


blurred lines

by SweetXscape



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Ironheart (Comics), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Female Character of Color, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Infidelity, Jealous Tony Stark, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Minor Steve Rogers/Riri Williams, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Tony Stark, Possessive Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Riri Williams Is Tony Stark's Kryptonite, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:20:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23243155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetXscape/pseuds/SweetXscape
Summary: Just before Tony is settling in bed for the night beside his slumbering wife, he receives an unexpected erotic text message from his assistant and it sends his entire life into an absolute tizzy.Playlist onSpotify.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Riri Williams, Tony Stark/Riri Williams
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21





	1. burning desire

* * *

Tony Stark always considered himself a good man, or at least he tried to be and strived to be every day – a good man and a good husband.

He wasn’t perfect – by a long shot – and had definitely made his fair share of mistakes, especially when he was younger.

But then he met Pepper Potts and she flipped his world upside down. He fell madly in love with her and knew she’d been the one the moment he laid eyes on her. She’d been his assistant and was excellent at what she did. She was the best assistant that Tony had ever had, and when he desired to pursue a romantic relationship with her, she’d been the one that turned him down, something about never mixing “business with pleasure.”

Tony can admit that he could be a spoiled brat. He grew up in a privileged and wealthy household. “No” was a word he’d never been properly introduced to. He’d always gotten what he wanted, whether it be in relationships or material items, it was always his way or the highway.

So the fact that Pepper had been the first woman to ever turn him down intrigued him. It made him hungry for her and pine after her even more, until he wore her down enough to finally relent to his pleas and decided to go out on a date with him.

Tony was ecstatic and didn’t believe he’d ever been that nervous and excited for a date in his life. Everything had to go as smoothly as possible or else she wouldn’t want a second date with him. She wouldn’t want anything to do with him outside of anything business-related, and that would be beyond awkward.

Tony wined and dined Pepper throughout their entire courtship. He did things for her that he’d never done for any other woman in his life. He cared about Pepper in a way he never had any other woman in his past. He cared about what she thought about him, he wanted to make her happy, and he loved making her smile.

Pepper was beautiful, smart and a good person. She challenged him in ways he’d never been challenged before. She brought out a side of him he didn’t know existed. She made him want to strive to be a better person. Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before he’d fallen in love with Pepper and asked for her hand in marriage.

That had been close to ten years ago. Tony couldn’t believe how fast time flew by.

Pepper retired as his assistant a couple years after they wed, therefore Tony was forced to reluctantly hire someone else for the position. Pepper was irreplaceable and he believed there would be no one else that could be as amazing as she was in that position.

But he was proven wrong, when he’d stumbled across a candidate fresh out of M.I.T. Her name was Riri Williams. She was 18-years old, of African-American descent, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, received excellent marks as well as excellent recommendations and graduated top of her class.

She’d caught Tony’s eye for a multitude of reasons; she was coming out of a college he was an alumni of, she had been hand picked to attend at 14-years old (just as he had) due to her brains and supreme intellect. The young woman’s former professors not only spoke very highly of her but one even said that she had been among one of the best and brightest students he’d ever had in the span of his 30-year old career.

Tony had decided to give her a chance. She was a lot younger than what he’d wanted, but he was intrigued. She looked remarkable on paper and he’d wanted to meet her, just to see if she lived up to the hype.

And boy did she.

Tony had been taken by her from the moment she stepped into his office.

She was the sweetest thing and had a certain innocence and shyness about her that was endearing and honestly - a breath of fresh air. He’d felt a peculiar urge to take her under his wing and become somewhat of a mentor to her.

He hired her on the spot and the look on her face made something inside him clench in excitement at her elated and slightly shocked expression.

* * *

Riri fit in quite seamlessly. Most of his other employees seemed to enjoy having her around, despite the fact that she could be rather shy and quiet. She wasn’t antisocial, just reserved, which he could understand. Most of the people Tony had working for him were over 30, Riri was the youngest person there. Tony figured that had to be an adjustment for her, even if she never vocalized it. 

Tony never thought he’d like anyone after Pepper. She left big shoes to fill and yet Riri stepped into the role with a confidence and self-assurance that Tony found admirable.

Pepper had met her a couple times and was absolutely enamored by Riri. She was glad Tony had managed to find such a quality assistant.

Tony could admit that he’d felt prideful by Pepper’s approval and it only served as further confirmation that he’d made the right decision in hiring Riri, despite his apprehensiveness of her youth and ability to handle the job of being his assistant (which wasn’t a walk in the park) with such grace and attentiveness like Pepper had before her.

He’d even gone as far as inviting her over for dinner a couple times. That was something he rarely did with employees because he did like to keep his work separate from his personal life… but Riri was different. As odd as it sounded, she was like a daughter to him. She was young enough to be his actual daughter and perhaps that is why he felt a peculiar protectiveness towards her.

Even at work, he’d sometimes notice the lustful looks of other men when she was with him, and it’d bother him. He could see them undress her with their eyes and it made him feel sick to his stomach. She didn’t deserve to be stared at her like a piece of meat.

Although, Tony knew that deep down, he had no right to be bothered by it. He used to be the exact same way before he met Pepper. But it still irritated him, especially when these powerful businessmen would ask him about her; ask him if she was good in bed or worse, when they would try to get him to pimp her out for them.

He can recall that one time a wealthy business owner of a profitable hotel told him he would close a deal with him if he got his “sexy” assistant to fuck him. This man was married, in his mid-60s with three adult children. Tony was disgusted and furious. He couldn’t believe he’d once respected these men and considered them friends. They were skeevy and predatory in nature.

Tony couldn’t see himself _ever_ being _that_ repulsive.

* * *

One day, Riri had come into his office, appearing uncharacteristically nervous and perturbed.

She wore her hair in an updo, pinned up by barrettes and butterfly clips with a few curly strands of hair falling into her face. She was clad in an ivory blouse and a long black skirt with leather heeled boots to match.

The sight of her alone had Tony on high alert. He’d never seen her look as anxious as she did that day and it bothered him immensely.

Immediately, he’d inquired about what was bothering her and she was hesitant on giving him an answer as to what exactly it was.

“Riri, you know you can tell me anything. If something’s bothering you, I would like to know.”

She looked so unsure of herself, apprehensive on whether she should tell him or not, even though it was obvious she came to him with the intent to divulge whatever it was. Perhaps she just needed a bit of a push.

“Riri,” he says gently, standing from behind his large mahogany desk and approaching her. “I know something is wrong and I want you to know that I meant it when I said that you could come to me if something was bothering you. I know you’re scared to tell me, for whatever reason, but you _can_ trust me. You know that right?”

Slowly, she nods and the look in her eyes nearly melts Tony’s heart. Whatever it was, Tony would get to the bottom of it.

“Here, have a seat and take a deep breath.” He says, leading her to the chairs perched in front of his desk.

She obeys and sits down in one of the chairs and exhales. Tony leans against his desk in front of her and wordlessly watches her for a few passing moments. The way she began to nervously fidget, tug at parts of her clothing and play with her hair. Finally, she gazes up at him and there is sadness in her wide brown eyes as well as uncertainty.

“It’s okay…” He says in a soft and reassuring tone, despite the fact that he was practically about to wet his pants with anticipation on what had Riri this deeply affected and bothered.

She nods and takes a deep breath yet again before she opens her mouth to speak.

“…I made a mistake.”

Tony frowns at this.

“What do you mean?”

“...I started dating a colleague. I know you advised against it because of how messy it could potentially get and how it would affect our work environment. I know I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation if I would’ve just listened to you in the first place.”

Normally, if this had of been anyone else, he would’ve used this opportunity to gloat about how he was right and the person in question was wrong. But the person in question was Riri, someone he truly cared about, and he didn’t have the heart to do such a thing to her, especially when she appeared to be so torn up about it.

“We all make mistakes Riri. Lord knows how many I’ve made over the years.” He chuckles, in attempt to lighten up the mood and it works for a moment with Riri offering him a halfhearted smile, before her shoulders slump in dejection. It breaks his heart to see her like this.

“Yeah… but this mistake could’ve been prevented if I would’ve taken heed to your advice. It wouldn’t have gone this far.”

“What happened?” He asks and she could barely look him in the eye. “Who was it?”

“He pursued me and I declined at first, but he wouldn’t stop, so I finally said yes. We went out on a couple dates and it was nice. I had fun. But then, he asked me to be his girlfriend. When I told him that I thought it was too soon… he began acting different.”

Tony frowns, moving to occupy the seat beside her.

“Different how…?”

“He was upset that I didn’t want to be his girlfriend. He said I was making a mistake by not giving him a chance. He started leaving me these horrible voicemails, about how he’d… do things to me and nobody would be able to protect me.”

“…Who is he?” Tony asks rather calmly, even if he felt like an uncontrollable, raging fire within had been set ablaze. 

“I think he was just upset. I don’t think he would actually go through with the things he said he would.” She says, in attempt to defend that sack of shit.

“It doesn’t matter. He was sexually harassing you. I’m not waiting to see on whether he plans to act out his volatile fantasies or not. He’s getting fired. I’m going to make sure he will struggle to find another job in this city.”

“Tony, I don’t want to be the reason he got fired. Maybe this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said anything –”

He stops her before she could get very far by grasping hold of her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She looks at him and he sighs, standing so that he was now face to face with her.

“You did the right thing coming to me Riri. This could’ve gotten a lot worse than it already has if you didn’t. How long has this been going on for?”

“…”

“Riri?”

“..A month...” She answers timidly.

Tony gapes at her response.

“A month?! An entire month he’s been harassing you and you said nothing?” He exclaims.

“I’m sorry.” She quickly apologizes. “I thought I could handle it myself, but I couldn’t…”

Tony exhales, attempting to get his emotions in check. It wasn’t her fault. Riri was just scared and probably thought coming to him would make things worse. She was young and he wouldn’t act self-righteous or like he didn’t think things through when he was her age, no matter how much of a genius he was.

“Okay. I’m sorry for popping off like that. I just hate that you had to endure this for so long and felt you couldn’t come to me right away when things started going south.”

“I should have and I don’t know why I didn’t.”

“Well you did and that’s all that matters now. Now, which colleague was it so we can put a permanent end to all of this.”

She sighs and looks away.

“Riri, you have to tell me. It’s the only way I’ll be able to protect you. Even if you don’t tell me, you know I’ll still find out for myself. But it’ll be a lot less time consuming if you simply tell me who it is and it will also spare my feelings a bit if _you_ were the one to tell me rather than me discovering it any other way.”

She looks him and slowly, she nods, swallowing thickly before letting out a shaky breath.

“…It’s Everett Ross.”

Tony clenched his jaw at his name. That man was around his age, perhaps a few years younger. He had no business harassing a young woman half his age.

Tony could feel his blood pressure rise as anger and fury pumped through his veins.

“…I’m sorry Tony.” Riri’s voice almost violently snaps him out of his reverie of bitter filled thoughts. When his eyes refocus on hers, he immediately softens up and all the rage he’d felt only seconds earlier dissipates as she blinks up at him with those wide brown eyes, remorsefully. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I shouldn’t have allowed this to go as far as it did. I should’ve listened to your advice.”

“It’s not your fault Riri. He’s the one that took things too far. He had no right to harass you that way. He’s going to pay for how he treated you and you’ll never have to worry about him again. Okay?”

She still looks remorseful, but she nods anyway and offers a soft smile in response.

“Okay… Thank you Tony.”

“You can thank me by not blaming yourself.”

“That’s gonna be a difficult task.” She chuckles, though he knows underneath the lighthearted joking, she’s serious.

“Yeah, but I need you to try, because none of this is your fault.”

He’s giving her a stern look, probably similar to how a father would his child when they said they couldn’t have something they really wanted, and she nods with a sigh.

“Okay… I’ll try not to.”

“Good,” he smiles, before pulling her in for a hug, which she gladly accepts.

He couldn’t understand how someone could treat Riri that way. How one could even think about physically and emotionally harming her. It was inconceivable to Tony, but one thing he knew was that Everett had fucked with the wrong one and Tony would make sure this man would lose everything.

Tony would show no mercy towards him and he’d pay for behaving such a way towards the one person whom was the least deserving of such barbaric behavior.

* * *

Things had gone rather smoothly after that incident. Everett Ross was promptly fired - effective immediately - and did not attempt to deny any of the accusations of sexual harassment against him, only hung his head in shame. Tony didn’t even give the other man time to pack up his things, he wanted him out immediately and even went as far as having him escorted off the premises, which undoubtedly caused a scene, but Tony didn’t give a shit.

Tony would have Everett’s things shipped to him and would also make sure the man’s name and reputation was dragged through the mud and that he would be unable to find work anywhere in that city or within the state again. It would serve him right and perhaps he will think twice before doing what he did to Riri to another woman ever again.

Although things had returned back to normal after the dismissal of Everett Ross (with the exception of workplace gossip), Tony found himself keeping a much closer eye on Riri as a result. Nothing like that ever happened again, but Tony found himself worrying for Riri. There was a certain naiveté about her that concerned him and he felt predators and creeps sensed about Riri almost immediately and latched onto her for that very reason.

He even began walking her to her car at the end of the night. She insisted he didn’t have to, but Tony wanted to. He suggested she start parking in the car garage like him, but she declined.

“It would make me feel better if you used the parking garage. It’s safer there than out here.”

“None of the other interns or employees park in there except you and a couple other executives. It’ll look like favoritism.”

Honestly, Tony wasn’t concerned about what others would think; he only cared about making sure she was safe. But perhaps, he could admit, she did have a point.

“Well, I could arrange for your parking space to become a no parking zone, so that it wouldn’t look that suspicious.”

“You’re really willing to go through all that trouble for something so trivial?”

“You’re safety isn’t what I’d call ‘trivial’ but yes. It’s not a big deal. It could be arranged.”

“I don’t know…”

“Perfect, I’ll have it arranged for tomorrow.” Tony grins.

“I didn’t say yes,” she calls after him as he begins to prance away.

“You didn’t have to!” He calls back over his shoulder with a smirk on his face.

* * *

Tony had grown close to Riri in the past three years she’d been his assistant. He cared for her like she was his own, provided her protection and privileges that went beyond what was necessary.

And although Riri appreciated all that he’d done for her, she continued to insist that it wasn’t necessary; that she was 21-years old and that she could take care of herself.

And that may have been true, but Tony wanted to make life as easy for her as possible. He didn’t know why, he just did. Riri was a good person, a sweet girl that worked hard and never complained. She deserved all of the finer things in life and Tony enjoyed being the one to give it to her.

In Tony’s mind, he viewed his generosity as innocent and harmless, but Riri worried about what others would think. She was always worrying about what others thought and he could admit it was one of the few flaws she had.

“Have lunch with me.” He states once they finish going over his schedule for the next week.

“I can’t,” she says with a funny look on her face.

“Why not?” He frowns, staring up at her, genuinely curious.

“Tony, people are starting to talk...”

“What do you mean? It’s just lunch.”

“We’ve had lunch together 4 times in a row last week.”

“So?” Tony shrugs, nonchalantly.

“ _So_ , because of that, people around here have begun to talk.”

“About what? It’s just workplace gossip. It’s not a big deal. You can’t let what others say get to you Riri.”

“They think something’s going on between us Tony. They’re saying you’re having an affair with me and that I’m a homewrecker.”

Tony pauses in his movements and glances up at her.

“ _What?_ Who is saying that? There’s going to be hell to pay for making up such ridiculous rumors.”

“Tony,” she sighs exasperatedly. “Maybe we shouldn’t… spend so much time together, just until the rumors cool down for a bit. I mean, what if this gets back to Pepper?”

“She’ll know it’s false. She adores you and she knows I could never do a thing like that to her.”

“It won’t have to come to that if we distance ourselves from each other and keep it strictly professional. Once the rumors settle down, we could go back to normal. It’s only temporary.”

Tony didn’t know why her suggestion bothered him, but reluctantly, he agreed, just because it was what Riri had wanted.

* * *

The rumors didn’t stop and it only made Tony angry, because he could see how it was affecting Riri and their relationship.

She didn’t want to be anywhere near him. Riri became distant and cold. They barely exchanged pleasantries anymore and she declined every offer he suggested of them meeting outside of work.

The rumors were getting to her, that much was obvious, and Tony could honestly say her distance did begin to chip away at him. The way she was acting, as childish as it sounded, hurt his feelings. Not only that, but he did miss her company and the odd yet amusing discussions they would have about science, life, technology and pretty much anything else in between.

Pepper had told him that she would eventually come around. She was still young and rumors like this could be damaging to a young woman and her career.

Tony could understand that, but it didn’t mean that her behavior didn’t bother him any less.

He took Pepper’s advice and began biding his time, no matter how hard it was.

* * *

Eventually, Riri did come back around like Pepper said she would, but… not in the way Tony was expecting – at all.

The incident had taken place just before bed, when he’d just finished up his shower and was heading to bed, to find Pepper already asleep. He’d smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek and settled under the covers.

Just as he cut off his lamp perched on his nightstand, his phone had buzzed, indicating a new text message.

Tony frowned. He couldn’t think of one person that would be texting him at this time of night. Still, he decided to check, just in case it was an emergency.

His jaw literally dropped at what he’d seen, what he’d _least_ expected to see.

It was a text message, an erotic text message, and it was from Riri, which made it even worse.

The text message read as following:

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

Tony was left speechless and in a state of utter shock, like the wind had been knocked out of him completely.

Immediately, he thought that perhaps the text message was a mistake and that he wasn’t the intended recipient. But then he began to wonder who was close enough to Riri for her to feel comfortable enough to send _this_ type of text message to them. It seemed so out of character for her. He didn’t even believe she was capable of being this… _raunchy._

Perhaps, he was the naive one for even thinking like that. Riri was a young woman and he was sure she had wants and needs, and he was sure there were plenty of guys out there that would be willing to satisfy them.

Tony then began to wonder why he cared so much about Riri’s sex life or the fact that she even had one to begin with. It was obvious this text message was a mistake and wasn’t intended for him. It wasn’t a big deal. He’d just tell her about the mistake and they’d move on from this and go back to the way things were.

Even as Tony thought this, he found himself sinking down into his sheets, glancing beside him to make sure Pepper was asleep before his eyes skimmed over the salacious words that glared across his iPhone screen, almost tauntingly.

He stared at it for five minutes straight before turning his phone off and forcing those words to the back of his head and willing himself to sleep.

* * *

When Tony approached Riri the next day with the words of her text messages still fresh on his mind, she didn’t seem any different or affected by it like he had been.

He began to wonder if he was making a big deal out of nothing.

Even if he was, he felt it necessary to address it so that he could move on with her without it being awkward between them.

“Riri, can I speak to you in private?” He asks her, interrupting a conversation she was having with a colleague.

She looks at him while the colleague gives them a suspicious once-over before excusing themselves.

“Tony,” she sighs, obviously annoyed. “I thought we agreed that –”

“This is important.” He interjects in a stern tone. She narrows her eyes at him, eventually nodding, wordlessly.

Riri follows him to his office, ignoring the stares and whispers, and once they finally arrive, Tony closes the door behind them and lets out a heavy sigh.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” She frowns.

Tony looks away from her, not sure why he’d all of sudden felt uneasy and slightly embarrassed, even if he wasn’t the one that sent the message.

“Late last night… you sent me a text message… an… interesting one.”

Riri looks genuinely confused and Tony sighs, digging in his pocket for his phone and pulling up the text message, figuring that it’d be best to let the nature of it speak for itself.

“Here, see for yourself.” He says, handing his phone over to her.

He watches her eyes skim over the words and savors the look on her face as she gasped and gazed up at him with wide, remorseful eyes.

“Tony, I...I can’t believe I sent this to you. I’m so sorry.”

Riri looks so embarrassed, so upset and shocked. Tony felt bad for her and didn’t want to make her feel any worse when he knew she’d felt horrible enough about this.

“It’s okay. I know it was a mistake.”

“Yeah… I was drinking last night with a couple of friends, more than I could probably handle, and I must’ve accidentally sent this to you instead… this is so embarrassing.”

“Drunk texting, we’ve all done it at least once.”

“Maybe, but not to your boss, one of the _last_ people you’d want to text something like this to.”

“Well at least it wasn’t your parents. Nothing is worse than that.” He chuckled.

“I guess that’s true,” she smiles, letting out a small giggle, still flushed from embarrassment. “It’s still humiliating though. I should’ve been more careful.”

“Well, I hope whomever this was intended for was worth it.”

She blushes.

“Well, we’ve been going together for these past two months, so…”

“What’s his name? Does he work here?” Tony asks, as nonchalantly as possible, so as to not give away the fact that he cared more than he was leading on.

“No. I learned my lesson the first time about dating colleagues.” She visibly shivers. “Anyways, his name is Steve Rogers. He’s a mechanic.” She smiles.

“A mechanic huh? Well, I hope he treats you well, because you deserve no less than that.”

“He does.” Riri smiles, dreamily, and Tony can’t help but feel something odd and unpleasant settle at the pit of his chest. It surprises him and makes him feel uncomfortable and a little angry.

He clears his throat.

“So, does this mean we’re back on good terms – that things will go back to normal?”

“Oh, yeah, about that… I’ve been meaning to apologize to you about the way I’ve been acting. I didn’t mean to ice you out like that. You’ve been such a great boss to me, a great friend and sort of like a mentor to me. I shouldn’t allow what others say or think about me get to me so much. I know the truth and that’s all that should matter, no matter what anyone says or thinks.”

“I understand why you did it, even if I didn’t agree. I think I will have a meeting or some type of PSA about the effects of workplace gossip. Sometimes people take it too far and that needs to be addressed.”

Riri smiles at him, shyly, and he chuckles, pulling her in for a hug.

“I’ve missed you, Rirster.”

“I’ve missed you too.” She smiles, giggling slightly at his nickname of her that ended up sticking. “Thank you for being so understanding Tony. I couldn’t have asked for a better boss or friend.”

* * *

Tony didn’t know why, but he kept going back to that same text message, reading it, over and over again, practically obsessing over it.

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

He’d had it memorized by now and couldn’t get the words out of his head, couldn’t get the image of Riri saying those words to him out of his head, even if the original message had never been intended for him.

It was as if those words from her, even indirectly, had awakened something in Tony, something sinister and filthy that was meant to be hidden away that’d been exposed and brought to light.

Tony read those words, religiously, every night before bed when he knew Pepper had gone to sleep already.

And he would think of Riri, no matter how much he’d tried not to. He began lusting after her and having x-rated fantasies about her that would make him feel sick afterwards, especially with his wife only a few inches away from him, snoozing quietly.

He tried to stop, but he couldn’t. It became so addictive that he began to secretly read that text message throughout the day, even at work, when he was alone.

He couldn’t believe that he’d begun having these thoughts about his assistant, about Riri.

All this time, he thought of Riri as his long lost daughter. At least he treated her like one, took her under his wings as if she were kin to him, offered her privileges that no other employee or intern at Stark Industries was allowed access to. Tony favored Riri and everyone knew it. But it was platonic, unlike the rumors had suggested. He treated Riri different because she was different. She was a hard worker; she was unbelievably smart and had a mind like no one else he’d ever met. She was a genius (and Tony rarely used that term loosely to describe other people’s wits and intelligence) and she was one of the few people that could actually keep up with him. But, most of all, Riri was sweet and caring and Tony felt compelled to look out for her for some reason.

He didn’t understand how people could look at it as something more nefarious, but Tony began to now wonder if they’d seen something he hadn’t, or was simply in denial about.

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

Tony blinked and ran a hand over his face. He needed to get it together. He was a happily married man. He wasn’t that man anymore. He was changed and loved his wife, more than anything, and he knew if Pepper knew what kind of thoughts he was having about his assistant, she would be heartbroken. And the last thing he wanted was to ever see Pepper hurt, especially if he was the cause of it.

This was just a silly phase and at worse, a crush that he would soon get over. Tony would eventually move on from it, or at least he hoped he would, so _very_ badly.

* * *

Tony began to watch her (when she wasn’t paying attention of course), watching her in a way that would not be deemed appropriate, especially by a happily married man.

When Riri would wear those skirts that showed off her legs, he would stare just a bit longer than necessary. Or when he’d catch her bending over, he’d check out her ass, nice and round it was.

And when she’d wear those blouses that showcased a bit of her cleavage, Tony couldn’t help but stare. He could have sworn she’d caught him staring a couple times, but if she did, she never called him out on it, which he was thankful for.

Tony began looking at Riri differently, much less like a daughter, and more like a potential lover.

He constantly fantasied about her, about what she looked like without any clothes on, what sex would be like with her, if she was the type to like it rough or soft and gentle, like her.

He’d become just like those old, perverted, philandering married men he used to chastise and look down on. Tony began to behave the same as them and became the type he warned Riri to stay away from.

He wanted her just like they did and he wondered if she could see it, if she at least picked up on his odd behavior towards her. She could be a bit naive, but she wasn’t dumb, far from it actually. And he was sure that she’d known something was up. She _had_ to.

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

Tony didn’t understand how one singular text message could send him into such a tizzy and fuck him up like this. How one singular text message could flip his world upside down so suddenly and so unexpectedly?

Or perhaps, this hadn’t been as “sudden” and “unexpected” as he would have liked to believe.

When he’d first laid eyes on Riri, he could admit that he did feel _something_. It explained his immediate fixation with her, the need to “protect” her from those he felt sought to harm her or take advantage of her.

Riri was beautiful, sweet and innocent. Something about her drew him in and he convinced himself that it was platonic, that he’d seen her as nothing more than budding potential, all he needed to do was teach her a few tricks of the trade and she would be more than good to go.

Tony didn’t want to admit that he did in fact harbor inappropriate feelings for Riri; his young, smart, beautiful assistant and mentee.

Tony went above and beyond for Riri and the last time he did that for a woman was for Pepper and it was because he had feelings for her.

So, it was safe to say, he’d felt the same towards Riri, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. He’d fallen for her and didn’t even realize it until it’d hit him smack in the face randomly in the middle of the night via an unexpected text.

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

And ever since that night, he thought about acting out what she’d asked for in that text. Tony fantasized about Riri on her knees before him with his cock inside her mouth, down her throat, and when he’d had enough, he’d pull away and relieve himself all over her chest.

He repeated that particular fantasy over and over again. He drove himself crazy thinking about it and every time he would see her, he would get a boner and he’d try so desperately to hide it, utterly ashamed of his lack of control.

_I want to suck your cock until I make you cum all over my breasts._

Tony knew that eventually, his thoughts and fantasies, no matter how harmless they may seem, would lead him down a path of destruction, to hell if he didn’t gain some sense of control and self-restraint.

It was scary and frightening, but there was also something alluring and seductive about doing something so forbidden. It was like he was Adam and Riri was the forbidden fruit; dangling from the tree of life, looking so dangerously tempting, delectable, captivating and appealing to his wondering, lustful eye.

Tony could only hope he would not fall victim to his own desires and lack of self-discipline the way Adam had.

He needed to get a fucking grip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credit to [zArkham](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2290086/zArkham) on [ff.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12135068/1/Ironheart) for the nickname idea from Tony for Riri and also for being such a fantastic writer.


	2. in my feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“‘Cause you got me in my feelings  
>  Talking in my sleep again  
> I’m taking my prisoners  
> And taking down names  
> In the smoke they can hear me coming  
> If you were me, and I was you  
> I’d get out of my way” ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3qKrWbzNKXe4bnAVh4a0xj?si=nPr0OxQRSwOP10e_qAjUpQ) was created for this story if you want a vibe while reading.

* * *

Tony had finally snapped. 

He wasn’t 100% sure what, exactly, it was that truly drove him to his breaking point.

Perhaps, it was a multitude of things rather than just one specific thing. Maybe it was simply his inability to rid the young woman from his thoughts and his dreams the very moment he closed his eyes to sleep. Maybe it was her intellect that got to him the most, her genius, her intelligence and her mind that was unlike anyone else’s. She was so very young but was far beyond her years when it came to her various talents and acumen. Maybe it was because he admired her sense of self-assurance, her drive to be better and her hunger to be the best at whatever she put her hands on.

Perhaps, it was her ability to challenge him intellectually, in ways he hadn’t been in a very long time. Riri was intellectually stimulating for him and the conversations they would sometimes have were ones that would be deemed as mystifying to others, but it all made perfect sense to Tony and he found that he enjoyed discussing various topics with Riri and gauging her perspective on a variety of topics.

Or, maybe, just maybe, it was his unadulterated lust for a peculiar set of wide brown eyes that gazed at him with such sincerity, such sweetness, and sagacious. It was enough to cause the skin of his face and cheeks to redden and flush at the most unexpected times (he was only made aware of this because Riri had questioned him about it a couple times and of course, he would always come up with some asinine excuse for it that even he had difficulty believing). It also could’ve been the curves of her hips in all of those pencil skirts and form fitting dresses she wore that only accentuated her figure, and the smoothness of her brown skin that seemed to go on for miles.

It was a combination of a slew of differing factors that contributed to his inevitable undoing, but either way, Tony knew when he had finally reached his boiling point.

It occurred one unusually late night at work. Both he and Riri had been the last ones left while everyone had long gone home hours ago. Riri was exhausted, he could tell, even if she never admitted to it.

Tony snuck glances at her as she lied across his couch from across the room. She claimed that she just needed to “rest her eyes” but Tony knew better. He wasn’t upset, he actually found it adorable and quite amusing.

She’d shifted a bit and when she did, a part of her skirt had fallen open, where a large part of her skin was made visible to Tony and he couldn’t help but lick his lips at the sight, hungrily.

Without really thinking it through, he arose from his seat behind his desk and took each step with a purpose. He’d locked his office door and closed the blinds, just to err on the side of caution, though he was 99.99% sure most Stark employees were gone by now.

Tony stood over her, staring at her as she napped. She looked beautiful, even when she slept, sweet and innocent.

He wanted her so badly. He could taste it.

Riri stirred a bit, maybe sensing his presence near, and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a couple times and when she locked eyes with him, she smiles, soft and sleepily. His heart flutters at the sight.

“I promise I wasn’t sleeping. I was just resting my eyes.” She giggles.

And that’s when whatever willpower he’d been exercising thus far had finally gave way. He couldn’t resist her any longer, even if he wanted to.

Tony leaned down and in one fell swoop, he was kissing her.

He hears her gasp in surprise, but she’s not pushing him away, like he half expects her to.

When he pulls away, she’s staring at him with those wide brown eyes of hers and he wonders what’s going through her mind in that moment.

When he leans in again to kiss her, that’s when she seems to come to her senses and pushes him away, gently of course.

“Tony, you’re married.”

That should’ve meant something to him, should’ve deterred him a lot more than it did, and he’s ashamed to say that it didn’t. It only made him yearn for her even more.

“But I want you.” He whispers out, breathlessly.

“You’re married Tony and I have a boyfriend.”

Tony looks down and takes her hand in his, squeezing it a bit and bringing it up to his lips to kiss.

“…I can’t get you out of my thoughts, no matter how hard I try. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, but it did.”

“Tony –”

“You started this you know, by sending me that text. It’s fucked me up ever since.” He chuckles wryly.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault. It’s my fault for letting it get to me, for letting you get inside my head.” He begins trailing kisses down her arm. “I tried, but I wasn’t strong enough. You’re too powerful and too addictive.”

She then pulls her arm away from him and he looks at her. He leans in and tries to kiss her again but she pushes him away, yet again.

“Tony, this isn’t what you want. You’re just tired, we both are, it’s been a long night for the both of us and –”

“I know what I want and it’s you. It’s always been you.”

“You don’t mean that, you love Pepper.”

“I do but, it doesn’t negate my feelings for you.”

“You shouldn’t have feelings for me at all.”

“But I do, and I know that you do too. I don’t think that text message was by accident either. I think you sent it on purpose, to see how I’d react, to test the waters and see if the feelings were mutual.”

“That’s not true,” she stutters out, unconvincingly. “It was an accident!”

“Admit that it was done purposely.”

“No,” she whimpers out. “…No.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I really was drunk but, it was supposed to be left in my drafts. I didn’t mean to actually send it to you.”

“So it really was meant to be sent to me?”

She nods, reluctantly, and he grins.

“I knew it… I fucking knew it.”

“You’re married Tony. This isn’t right.”

“I wish I felt guilty about that fact, but I don’t. Not right now, when I want you so badly…”

He leans in again and when she goes to stop him, he takes her by the wrists and pins them down on either side of her.

She tries to put up a weak fight, but he climbs on top of her, incapacitating her completely.

When he pulls away, she has tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry sweetie.” He wipes away the few tears that managed to escape and stream down her round puffy cheeks. “…I’m only giving you want you’ve wanted, what we both want…”

“But it’s wrong Tony, _so_ wrong…” 

“Don’t think about what’s right and what’s wrong right now. Think about me and only me.”

When he leans down to kiss her, she doesn’t resist him, and he nearly smiles in the kiss because of it.

He lets go of her wrists as one of his hands trail down the side of her body, slipping underneath her mid-length pencil skirt to stroke at her bare thigh.

Tony pulls away as one of his fingers hook onto the elastic band of her underwear. He looks at her, almost as if he was giving her and himself an out, one last out.

And yet, neither of them takes it. Riri’s big brown eyes are gazing up at him in a way he could never recall her ever looking at him before. It was desire, longing and impulse. It was unadulterated lust.

“Tony…” she whispers out, sultry and sinfully sweet, cheeks still wet and stained from her tears. “…Fuck me.”

Riri’s words alone set something ablaze in his belly, something wild and uninhabited. He could even feel his budding erection twitch in his trousers and he wondered if she felt it, too.

Tony didn’t need further convincing after she’d told him that. Her words went straight to his head and straight to his dick, too.

He wasted no time discarding her underwear, pink and frilly it was, along with her skirt. He immediately began unbuttoning her blouse, eager in the way he undressed her, like he was unwrapping a long anticipated birthday present.

And he wasn’t as gentle about it as he could have been. He was so eager, so needy, and so horny. He wanted her so badly and for so long. The fact that he knew he was so close to getting what he’d wanted after all this time had him nearly fumbling over with excitement that he could finally have her, in a way he’d been deprived of for far too long.

When he’d finally stripped her down until she was utterly naked, Tony felt like his breath had gotten caught in his throat at the sight of her.

She was beautiful and everything Tony imagined she would be if this moment ever came, even better.

His eyes trailed over every inch of her body, lustfully, and his eyes pause on her belly button ring. It was a baby pink butterfly. He couldn’t help but run a lone finger around the small, delicate piece of jewelry.

He glanced up at her and Riri watched him as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lower abdomen.

He nuzzled his goatee against her smooth skin before dragging his tongue down across her navel, moving down further until he could feel her small, dainty hands in his hair and a soft and barely audible moan escape past her lips.

He placed a hand down on her thigh in attempt to keep her still as his tongue swirls around her pink clitoris. She was already wet and he could smell her arousal, it intoxicated him, and he found himself groaning at the taste and scent of her.

He litters the soft, sensitive flesh with affectionate kisses before reluctantly pulling away to undress.

Riri looks like a dream as she gazes up at him, watches as he discards every article of clothing, one by one. She never looked as relaxed and easy as she did in that moment, with one hand positioned behind her head while her other hand rested on her tummy.

Tony wanted to ravish her, right then and there, because she looked so majestic, ethereal, and angelic.

He didn’t feel not one ounce of guilt at what he was about to partake in with her. It was almost frightening to Tony the amount of control he allowed this young girl to have over him, so effortlessly.

Tony didn’t care if having her this way would make him a repulsive hypocrite and just like all the other creepy old men that constantly hit on her and whom Tony found himself safeguarding her from.

He didn’t care much about anything that night. All he cared about was Riri and having her in a way he never had before and in a way he’d been secretly yearning for.

When he’d finally discarded the last article of clothing, he stood before her and he could feel a slight quiver up his spine as her eyes lingered over his body, from head to toe.

Her eyes briefly stopped on his erection, which curled up into his belly button, leaking pre-cum, and she’d slipped off the couch and onto her knees before him.

Tony let out a small breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in when she took him into her hands.

Tony couldn’t recall how many fantasies he’d had with her looking the way she did in that very moment, how many times he’d masturbated to it and played it over and over again in his head. Still, nothing could ever compare to the real thing.

When she took him into her mouth, her pretty little mouth, Tony’s head fell back as he groaned.

One of his hands fell into her hair, soft and sleek it felt between his fingers, and his gaze falls back onto her, because he can’t keep his eyes off her for very long, in fear he might miss something particularly spectacular from her.

Tony was ashamed to say that he was already so worked up that he could’ve came right then and there, just by watching her deep throat him.

“Baby, no, I’m gonna cum all over you’re pretty face.” He groans, in a weak attempt at warning her that he was not going to last at all.

“Do it,” she says in a seductive tone, pulling off of him only momentarily. “Do it Tony, just like how I said I wanted it.”

She sounded so sexy and mischievous, very out of character for her, or perhaps a side to her that Tony had yet to discover.

When he came, she pulled away and he squirted all over her. A thick, milky white fluid splattered across her sternum. Riri leaned in and suckled at his tip, until more of his cum oozed out.

“F-Fuck…” he groans, already feeling weak in the knees.

Riri pulled away and leaned into press small kisses to his thigh, hip, and lower abdomen.

Tony pulled her up so that they were face to face and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body into his and kissing her tenderly on the lips.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair.

He winds up falling onto his back onto the couch with her crawling on top of him with a slightly mischievous giggle.

He smiles as she leans down to kiss him again. He runs his fingers down the length of her spine, reaching down to grip her ass.

Minutes later, Tony flipped her over onto her back, breaking the kiss so that he could stare at her.

Riri bit down on her lip tantalizingly and gazed at him with a coquettish smile, and spread her legs for him.

Tony settled between them and leaned down to suck on her tits, almost like an infant would its mother, and she moaned softly.

Tony enjoyed the dreamy expression on her face, the small smirk on her pretty plump lips, and the sounds he would draw out of her by pleasuring her.

He wanted to know the kind of sounds she’d make when he was inside her, what she would feel like wrapped around him, and how long either of them would last.

Tony leaned up, unable to withstand the teasing and wondering any longer, and began positioning and aligning himself up with the small, puffy slit of her opening.

He looked up at her before making any further moves and her eyes are soft and pure, as they gaze up at him. He could feel his heart flutter at the mere sight of her. Riri was such an exquisite beauty. Something about her was celestial and sublime. He’d never met someone that made him feel this way. It was a different feeling than the one he’d harbored for Pepper. This was something quite unique and powerful, so powerful it frightened him.

As he slid inside her, smooth and easy, which evoked a small gasp from her, he knew he was in love with her. He knew right then that he’d fallen in love with her.

He lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around his waist as he began to thrust his hips into hers.

Tony left numerous hickeys on her neck, chest and certain areas around her tits.

She moaned and he tongue kissed her. He could feel her nails graze the back of his neck, down his spine and across his hips. He was pretty sure that by the time they’d finished, his body would be covered in scratch marks.

How would he explain it to Pepper? Perhaps, he could pass it off as her own doing...

Riri moaned as he began to thrust his hips faster against her own. He pulled away to look at her and her eyes were closed. He brushed a hand down the side of her face and leaned into kiss her cheek. He ran his hand through her hair and finally, she opens her eyes to gaze up at him and something in his belly flutters when those beautiful brown eyes lock with his.

“Tony…” she moans, reaching a hand out to touch the side of his face, much like he had moments earlier. The tips of her fingers outline his features, his eyes, his nose, and lips. His hand clasps atop of hers and he laces their fingers together, pressing a kiss to her wrist.

Looking at her, Tony wanted to tell her so badly how much he loved her, how he was in love with her, and that he’d finally realized it tonight.

But he bit his tongue on it, because he didn’t want to put her on the spot given it was likely a chance she didn’t feel the same way, which evoked an unpleasant throb in his chest at the thought. And he also didn’t want to come on too strong.

So, he kept it all in and focused on how beautiful she looked in that moment and how good he felt, and how good he was making her feel. And it was enough to get him off.

Tony’s breathing became labored he rocked into her; the feeling of her tight, wet heat encasing his cock with every thrust he made was almost tortuous. His balls felt heavy and taut, ready to explode. Tony knew he could’ve came then, but he didn’t, because his priority was to make sure she was the one who crumbled under the pressure first, that she was pleased and satisfied above all else.

So, with that thought in mind, he leans up, taking her by the thighs, impelling his cock into her at a mind-blowing pace that had the couch they found themselves occupied on vibrate and tremble with his movements.

But, this proved to be not one of his brightest ideas given as it only made the pressure from his impending orgasm worse, and he found it much more difficult to suppress it.

Tony, with all of his willpower, tried so hard to repress it and stall it off for as long as he possibly could, until it became too much for him.

He was weak; Tony was man enough to admit it, no matter how hard it was. He was a weak man that had succumbed to desires - much like Adam had before him - engulfed by his own lust, and weakened by his own wondering eye.

He thought he’d buried that part of him once he’d gotten serious with Pepper, but apparently he hadn’t. All it took was someone young, sweet as sugar, and as beautiful as the moon on a cloudless night for him to slip up.

It was pathetic and there was a part of Tony that loathed himself for being so susceptible to giving in so easily. He barely even put up much of a fight against it. How could a man of his age and stature allow himself to get so emotionally caught up with a woman half his age? He was smarter than this, or at least he should’ve been.

But then, as he gazed down at her, in all of her glory, he wondered how in the hell he would’ve been able to _not_ fall madly in love with her. Perhaps, it was true that a part of him was indeed weak, but he strongly believes that any man in his position would’ve done the same thing as he, married or not.

Tony could objectively say that Riri was gorgeous, not only aesthetics wise, but personality wise as well. She was so smart, sharp as a tack, witty as hell, and she had a confidence that was admirable. But there was a side to her that was shy, naive, and sweet as pie. She had an aura about her that many gravitated to. Tony was sure he wasn’t the only one that picked that up about her. It could explain why he was constantly cock-blocking so many men of all ages from her. He felt, at times, that she was too pure for this world, and he felt a certain degree of obligation to protect her from all its grime and uncleanliness.

He’d been with his fair share of women and none of them evoked these types of feelings from him, besides Pepper of course, and even _that_ was different from _this_.

Tony couldn’t explain this. He couldn’t make sense of it at all. He just knew that this is how it was for him now; these feelings weren’t going away any time soon, no matter how hard he tried to will them away, for his sake, for Riri’s and his wife’s. It was of no use.

He feels her nails graze his torso as she begins to move with him, matching the rhythm of his hips.

Tony’s balls tightened, painfully so, and he felt hot all over as perspiration lathered his skin. He felt a shivering sensation shoot down his spine as he rammed his hips into hers, faster and faster, a clear sign to him that he was going to cum.

Riri moaned beneath him, her eyelashes fluttering as she chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes flickered up to meet his.

“Tony… m’gonna make you cum…” she whimpers out.

Tony knew he was goner right then and there. When she dug her nails into his thigh, surely deep enough to leave a mark, that’s when he comes, in pleasurable waves, painting her insides with his seed.

Tony can’t recall the last time he had an orgasm that powerful, so powerful, his limbs felt like Jell-O afterwards. But still, he wouldn’t allow that to deter him one bit from his ultimate goal.

With labored breaths, he leaned down and kissed her, slipping his tongue inside her mouth, still thrusting into her vigorously.

He slipped a hand down between their bodies and began using the pads of his fingers to circle her clitoris.

This evoked a moan from her as she wraps her legs around his hips. The sounds she made spurred Tony on. He was so desperate for her to cum. He wanted to know what she looked like when she reached her sexual peak. He wanted to take her over the edge. He wanted to be the reason she had stars in her eyes and butterflies in her belly.

Riri began to unravel and Tony took smug pleasure in it. When she tried to pull away from the kiss, he held her in place and she whimpered, weakly grasping hold of his forearm as the speed of his fingers intensified.

Finally, he pulls away, because he wants to see her at the height of this special moment between them where she’s vulnerable, desperate and needy, and for _him_ of all people… just for Tony.

The synchronization of his fingers and his cock proved to be overwhelming for her, judging by the way she cried out his name and clawed away at every inch of his skin.

Finally, when she’s become overpowered by the pleasure of his fingers and his cock simultaneously, she comes.

Riri arches her back, sinking her nails into his skin, and lets out a cry of pleasure. It was a sight he couldn’t see himself ever forgetting, a sight that he would file away in his archives for later reference to play over and over again when he wasn’t with her and he was left a horny mess.

Eventually, he withdraws himself from her - reluctantly of course - and settles down beside her. Immediately, she snuggles up next to him, nuzzling her face into his neck.

It was adorable and his heart fluttered warmly as he wrapped his arms around her, chuckling as he threads his fingers through her hair that smelled of something tropical.

She pulls away slightly to gaze up at him with a sleepy smile and Tony couldn’t help but lean in and litter her face with kisses.

“Tony,” she giggles, childish in nature, but adorable nonetheless.

“What? You want me to stop?” He smiles, pressing a kiss to the side of her mouth. “Huh?”

“No.” She smiles, blinking up at him with those mesmerizing brown eyes of hers.

“...You’re so beautiful.” He whispers, framing her face with one of his hands that slid down from playing with her hair to gently grasping hold of her chin. “…You know that?”

“No,” she answers, blushing uncontrollably.

“Well you should, because it’s true.”

They stare at one another for a few passing moments before her eyes drift down to his lips and he’s leaning into close the small distance between them.

Tony’s on cloud nine by the time he returns home, a quarter past eleven at night.

Pepper’s already fast asleep in bed and he’s glad she didn’t wait up for him like she sometimes did, especially if he worked late.

Tony wishes that the sight of his slumbering wife ignited some form of guilt or remorse, but it didn’t. Even when he slipped into bed after a nice cold shower and she stirred, muttering her love for him and how she was glad he was back home, still he felt nothing, and that bothered him more than his actual act of committing adultery.

He thought about Riri as he began to drift off, even sent her a sweet goodnight message (but not before he made sure Pepper was utterly knocked out), even if he probably shouldn’t have given his wife was sound asleep right beside him.

_Good night darling. Sleep well and may all your dreams be beautiful. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow._

He’s pleasantly surprised by how fast her reply comes.

_I will be dreaming of you._

The grin that nearly broke his face in half would’ve been embarrassingly pathetic had he not felt so overwhelmingly delighted and gratified by her words.

Needless to say, Tony slept like a log that night.

* * *

Tony wishes he could say that particular night was the last of what had occurred between himself and Riri, but it wasn’t and Tony made sure of that.

The very next night, when Tony was sure everyone had gone home for the night, Tony locked his office door, closed the blinds and was inevitably pulling her body into his and wrapping his arms around her petite frame.

Tony backed her up against the wall and began peeling away her clothing. Riri did put up a little bit of a fight. She feared they’d get caught, but Tony quickly quelled her fears by his kisses and his touches to her soft, naked skin.

He carried her to his couch and they made love for the second time, and like the first time, Tony had felt little regret.

However he’d known that Riri’s fears were logical and that they would not be able to continue doing this at work or in his office.

Tony pondered on where they could continue to see each other outside of work, without alerting Pepper to something suspicious or getting spotted by their colleagues.

“Tony.” Riri says, her voice soft and slightly hesitant as she interrupts his reverie of thoughts. “…I think we’re making a mistake.”

He frowns at her words.

“What do you mean?” He asks, even if he had a pretty good idea where she was going with this.

“I mean… maybe we shouldn’t do _this_ anymore.” She sits up and Tony’s eyes couldn’t help but fall to her exposed chest. “You’re married to a smart and beautiful woman. And I’m with a guy – Steve – that’s so nice and sweet to me. He treats me so well. Neither of them deserves to be hurt by our actions, by our lack of control.”

She turns to look at him and there are tears in her eyes. The sight of her stirs up something unpleasant in him. Perhaps, it was guilt because he knew she was right and he didn’t want to acknowledge that fact. Or anger, because he didn’t want to end this. He didn’t want to stop seeing her, but she did, and there was nothing he could do about it.

It was crazy, because he’d always figured he’d be the one out of the two of them, that would harbor the most guilt, given he had the most to lose if it ever came out he’d had an affair on his beloved Pepper.

But nope, it was Riri that had the conscious in this affair, and it only exemplified the kind of person she was, and it made his heart ache for her even more than it already did.

“…Okay.” He says, devoid of any discernible emotion, despite the storm brewing within. Tony didn’t want her to see how fucked up her decision of putting an end to this made him, even if she was logically making the right decision for the both of them, even if he resented it.

* * *

Tony, apparently, hadn’t been as discreet as he’d hoped he’d been. It quickly became obvious to Riri that after she’d cut things off between them, that he subsequently began treating her differently.

Tony wasn’t mean to her. Even if he was upset with her decision, bitter about it, he could never have the heart to be outright mean-spirited to her like he’d been in his past towards women he’d smashed and passed.

But he was distant towards her, not as amiable as he used to be with her. It bothered her, so much so, she confronted him about it one day when they were finally alone and finished going over his weekly schedule.

And of course Tony didn’t immediately fess up to his changed behavior towards her. Instead, he gaslighted her and tried to make it seem like it was all in her head, that he was acting like he’d always acted towards her. That particular lie burned on his tongue and even he had difficulty believing his own pathetic lies.

Tony reassured Riri that everything was fine, that _he_ was fine, and that _they_ were fine, even if deep down, he knew he wasn’t fine and that their relationship was indeed changed and was effected by their previous actions. Riri had wanted things to go back to the way they were before, but Tony didn’t believe it would be possible.

Their relationship beforehand was professional and platonic. Now, it was different. Tony indeed had feelings for Riri that went beyond professional and platonic and it was naive to believe that wouldn’t affect both their professional and personal relationship, not to mention that they’d slept together not once, but _twice_.

But perhaps in Riri’s youthful and naive mind, she probably viewed it as sex only and didn’t invest as much into it as Tony surprisingly had, which explained her ability to be able to cut him off so easily.

The realization that Tony had been the one that caught feelings unrequited hurt like hell and Tony felt angry and bitter about it.

Tony found that he was unable to behave maturely about this and it became obvious to everyone around them that something unpleasant had definitely gone down between Riri and him, at least that’s what the rumors had been about. They were better than the ones accusing him of banging his assistant, even if they no longer rang untrue anymore.

Tony should’ve been glad Riri was the responsible one between them and ended it. She was right. Pepper would be crushed if she found out what Tony engaged in behind her back, especially if she’d known it was with Riri.

Pepper adored Riri and would be totally blindsided by the fact that Riri would do such a terrible thing to her.

But even with knowing all of this, how wrong it was and how hurt Pepper would be, the irrational part of Tony’s mind was still unhappy with it all. He still wanted Riri and he despised the fact that she didn’t want him just as badly as he wanted her. That she could move on with her life, from him, effortlessly and seemingly unaffected.

It even made him question if she’d even cared about him at all, not even as a lover, but as her friend, her mentor and as her boss.

Tony knew she wasn’t that heartless and that she did care, but sometimes it felt like she didn’t. But he figured that he was letting his emotions get the best of him, to the point where it was clouding his logic. It wasn’t the first time Riri had this effect on him and it probably wouldn’t be the last, unfortunately.

* * *

“This isn’t right.” 

Riri glances over at him from where she stood across his office, making her way over to him with a frown and furrowed brows.

“What isn’t right?” 

“The meeting with Claude Vanderson is scheduled for Friday. I said I wanted it to be Wednesday. Why does the appointment book say Friday?”

“Because that’s what you told me two days ago.”

“No I didn’t.” 

“Yes you did. I remember because you always told me you hated having meetings near the weekend and after. You prefer all of your meetings to take place in the middle of the week instead of at the beginning or end. I reminded you of this but you insisted it be on a Friday.” 

“I said that?” Tony asks, feigning confusion, knowing good and damn well it’s exactly what he said to her.

“Mmhm,” she nods.

“Well, I’ve changed my mind. I want it back on Wednesday.” 

Something like annoyance flickers across her countenance and something inside Tony clenches in excitement in response.

In recent times, he began to take great pleasure in annoying Riri, attempting to confuse her and making things much more complicated for her than necessary. He knew it was wrong and immature as hell, but the side to him that was filled with pent up anger and resentment did not care one bit. The part of him that was bitter towards her felt she deserved this unjust treatment from him.

“Tony, this is the third time you’ve canceled and/or rescheduled on Mr. Vanderson. That man is far from the patient type and if you keep blowing him off like this, you’re going to lose him as a client and with his particular expertise, he would be a major benefit and asset to Stark Industries -” 

“Do you work for him or do you work for me?” Tony snaps, which earns him an astonished expression from Riri in response seeing as he has never snapped at her like this before, _ever_. “You’ve been singing that man’s praises since before you even met him. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you wanted to blow him.”

The words come flying out of his mouth before he could attempt to stop them before they reached existence. He felt like a complete jackass thereafter. He had no idea what possessed him to say such things to her other than the discontentment he’d been feeling over the past few weeks. It took on an entire existence of its own and came barreling out in that moment without his consent. 

He could not gauge an accurate assessment of what Riri had been feeling in that moment at his unwarranted outburst, which irritated him even more because he could not decipher whether he’d successfully gotten under her skin or not. Her brown eyes were devoid of any discernible emotion once she responded.

“Wednesday it is.”

And then she resumes as if nothing had occurred, and somehow, her lack of emotional response makes him feel even shitter than he already had, if _that_ was even possible at this point.

* * *

Time had passed, with many more rude and unwarranted outbursts from Tony, lashing out at his assistant for the smallest, insignificant things, and as result, Riri had reached her wits end.

She had finally had enough of his aloof attitude towards her and confronted him yet again.

A month had gone by and nothing had changed. Tony was still being an asshole towards her.

Tony could admit that Riri didn’t deserve half the shit he piled onto her in the past month solely because of the fact that he was still bitter about the fact that she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

Riri’s work hadn’t been affected in any way and she was still doing an excellent job, so from her perspective, it made no sense as to why he treated her like she was doing everything wrong.

Tony sat behind his desk as Riri confronted him and called him out on his mistreatment of her, and for the first time, he’d felt guilty. Tony felt more remorse about this than having an affair on his own wife.

Tony doesn’t think he’s ever seen her so upset. Riri, for as long as Tony had known her, was pretty level-headed and rarely lost her cool, so when she did this time around, he knew it was serious and that his behavior really was negatively affecting her.

Tony loved her still and even if she’d broken his heart, he disliked seeing her like this and being the reason behind her distress.

So, that’s when he’d decided to finally come clean and admit that he hadn’t gotten over shit and was bitter about the way things ended between them.

Riri didn’t seem all that shocked by it, perhaps she’d known deep down that he’d been lying about being fine and okay with the way things were between them. After all, she was a smart girl and although she was young, she wasn’t in the least bit dumb.

“I’ve been an utter jerk to you and I shouldn’t have been, despite everything… I’m sorry Riri.”

“It’s okay Tony, I understand.”

Tony smiles, halfheartedly, at her compassion for him, her pity. And although Tony was glad she seemed to genuinely accept his apology as sincere, it still wasn’t enough for him. He’d wanted more from her. Hell, all he wanted was _her_.

And he wasn’t afraid in letting her know just that.

“No one would ever have to know. We could make it work.”

“We can’t Tony. I’m sorry.”

“Why not?” He demands and he doesn’t realize how dumb that question is until after it leaves his mouth.

“Please tell me that’s a rhetorical question.”

“What I mean is… was it just sex for you? Did you ever care about me beyond me just being your boss?”

Riri looks away from him then, chewing on her bottom lip, and fidgeting in her seat, like she always did when she was nervous. Tony thought it was an adorable habit of hers.

“Why does it even matter? You’re married Tony. Don’t you love your wife?”

This time, it’s his turn to look away, and he sighs, clenching his jaw. It was a damn shame how Riri was more concerned about the well-being of his wife than he was. All he cared about was pining after her. He still hadn’t considered how his actions could and would affect Pepper.

“Yes, but…” He sighs and glances up at her and his heart flutters at the way it seemed her wide brown eyes glimmered at him. “Because I…”

Tony couldn’t even get the words out. He was nervous about what her reaction would be if he came clean about his feelings for her. He didn’t want to come across as clingy or give her more of a reason to turn him away.

But maybe if she did know, she would understand and wouldn’t be so quick to shun him. She would know that she meant more to him than she initially believed and that, for him at least; it was more than just sex for him, _so_ much more than that.

“I think you’re just confused and got momentarily caught up.” Riri arises from her seat and sighs. “We made a mistake and I’m willing to forget about it if you are.”

And that’s when he’s had enough, when his placid exterior gives way, and he’s pouring out all of his emotions, everything he’d been holding in like a shaken bottle of soda pop, words oozing out of him before he could stop them.

“But I don’t want to forget about it, because it actually meant something to me.”

“Tony?–”

“No.” He interjects as he arises from his own seat and stepping from behind his large desk. “You need to hear this. You need to know. You _have_ to know.”

Riri looks apprehensive as he approaches her and she takes a couple steps back.

“Riri, you have to know that – that I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind for the longest time. No matter how hard I tried – and Lord knows I did – I couldn’t.”

“Tony –” she tries again, but it’s of no use, because he keeps going before she could get another word in edgewise.

Tony takes another step forward, while she takes another couple steps back.

“I’ve been in love with you, for all this time, and I didn’t realize it until that first night we made love.”

Whatever she was about to say died on her tongue as she stared at him, wide eyed and speechless. Tony takes another step towards her.

“When you wanted to end things between us, it broke my heart and I admit that I was bitter about it and I treated you unfairly because of my hurt feelings and I was wrong for that. You didn’t deserve that, even if you hurt my feelings by rejecting me, especially after we’d had such spectacular sex together.” He chuckles, only halfheartedly.

Riri ended up backing herself into a wall and Tony had her cornered.

“I know it’s not right, I know I’m not supposed to feel this strongly about any other woman but my wife, I know you’re a good person and the last thing you’d want to do is become entangled with a married man, but what am I to do? I can’t ignore them anymore or act like they don’t exist.” He sighs, running a hand over his face, exasperatedly. “I bet this didn’t even mean half as much to you as it did for me, and look at me, I’m over here making a fool of myself, like a lovesick puppy.” 

“Tony,” she pipes up, rather meekly. “I… I do like you, a lot, I just…”

There was a knock at his office door, startling them both. Tony cursed under his breath at the fantastic timing and offers Riri an apologetic glance before straightening up his suit and clearing his throat.

“Come in!”

“Mister Stark, just the man I was looking for.” Brandon Davis, the marketing executive of Stark Industries, grins as he enters the office holding an iPad.

“This better be good Brandon.”

“Oh, trust me, it is.” Brandon smirks, turning his eyes to the silent figure behind Tony. “Oh hello Riri, aren’t you looking ravishing this fine morning?”

Riri offers Brandon a small wave and a shy smile before scurrying off.

“Damn, I’ve been trying to get her to go on a date with me since forever. Tell me, what am I doing wrong here?”

Tony rolls his eyes, returning to his seat behind his desk, and clearing his throat.

“You said this was important…”

“Oh, right!” Brandon nods, snapping out of his own musings. “Anyways, here are the updates you’d been inquiring about…”

* * *

“Please tell me that’s the last of the paperwork. I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah, that’s the last of it.” Riri confirms, organizing the paperwork and setting them inside colorful folders.

“Goddam this day was long as hell. Thank God it’s over.” Tony grumbles.

Riri giggles.

“Yes, today was particularly grueling, but at least it’s finally the weekend.”

Tony lifts his head up to glance at her.

“Got any plans?”

“Actually I do,” she smiles, stacking the folders into one neat pile. “Steve wants to take me to a Lakers game. He got front row tickets.”

“I didn’t know you were a Lakers fan. A friend of mine is best friends with the coach. I could’ve arranged for you to be in the sky box if you wanted.”

“That’s sweet.” Riri smiles. “But Steve is more a basketball/Lakers fan than I am. He would appreciate that gesture a lot more than I would.”

“Well, in that case, forget what I just said.”

“Tony! Don’t be like that.”

“So, is it really serious between you and ole boy?”

Riri shrugs with a sigh.

“I’m taking it slow, but things have been going great between us thus far.”

Tony nods, pretending like he was okay with this conversation when he wasn’t. It actually made him uncomfortable and irritated.

“Tony,” she bites her lip, in way that always got him going. “…Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Riri glances down at the floor, contemplatively, and Tony watches her. She glances back up at him and her eyes are soft, open and vulnerable.

“Tony... Are you… are you really in love with me?”

“Yes,” he replies breathlessly, without hesitation. “I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice so much if I wasn’t.”

Riri’s quiet for a few moments, seeming to process his words, analyze them and decipher them.

And he’s patient, because he senses that he’s found a chink in her armor, a crack, an opening for a way into her heart, past the walls she’s put up as a defense mechanism.

Finally though, for what seemed like an eternity (but in reality, only a couple of minutes), she makes a move by arising from her chair in front of his desk and making her way around the large entity.

Tony watches her every move with intent and when she wounds up perching herself up on his lap, it evokes a soft ‘umph’ sound from his throat.

She leaned in and pressed sweet, chaste kiss to his lips that leaves him yearning for more.

“If we do this, will you promise me one thing?”

“Anything,” he replies breathlessly, eager to please her and satisfy whatever her wants and needs were, anything to have her back.

Riri made him promise that they’d keep it strictly professional at work and that they wouldn’t allow their personal “relationship” to ever affect their working relationship like it had before.

Tony quickly agreed and even apologized once again for the way he’d acted before, still cringing at the fact that he’d practically behaved like a petulant child who didn’t get their way for once.

Love really had a way of making one lose their entire God given sense and act an unsightly fool.

But, Tony wouldn’t lie; he would do it again if he knew _this_ would be the outcome, that he would finally have her the way he desired, even if the circumstances were far from ideal. It was better than before.

* * *

This is how Tony had found himself in a full blown affair, with his assistant. There was a cruel irony in the fact that he’d ended up falling for another woman in the same way he had Pepper.

Tony thought about that often and wondered if Pepper ever thought about the chance of him falling for another woman as his assistant as he did her. But then again, Tony never gave Pepper a reason to believe he’d ever be unfaithful to her, so why would she be worried or paranoid about something like that?

Speaking of which, Tony had an entire schedule set out for them to follow in order not to set off any red flags of suspicion in their personal lives, but allotted a specific day and time for them to be able to see each other outside of work.

They both picked out specific weekdays to see each other. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were their days and together (well, mostly Tony, Riri wasn’t as great of a liar as Tony) they came up with the perfect excuse and lies they’d tell their partners and other people if they asked why they were unavailable.

Tony had told Pepper that Tuesdays and Thursdays were the days he’d be working extra late and to not wait up for him. Saturdays were mandatory meetings, a new procedure he’d started for updates on weekly performances from everyone and to make sure Stark Industries was running as smoothly and effectively as possible.

Pepper believed it (because why wouldn’t she?), although she wasn’t happy about him working late, she knew how passionate and hardworking Tony could be when it came to running an entire empire, so she wasn’t too upset. As long as he’d make it up to her by returning early on the other days, she would be okay with it.

He’d advised Riri to tell her boyfriend (Steve was it?) the same thing. Tony could tell Riri harbored a lot more of a guilty conscious about this than he did. Tony figured that would be the everlasting tone of their relationship – her constant worrying and penitence whilst he tries to persuade her to enjoy the dark side with him.

And, even with all the remorse Riri seemed to harbor as a result of their affair, she seemed to enjoy their time together on their special days as much as he did.

Tony reserved a room for them on their days at a luxury hotel not in their city under a different alias, using a credit card Pepper hadn’t known about and didn’t have access to.

Saturdays were Tony’s personal favorite, because he got to spend most of his day with Riri.

They didn’t go out often, but sometimes they did and it was during those times where Tony felt like a different man. He didn’t feel married or like he was doing anything wrong. It was during those times with her where he felt most at peace, like he was a normal guy out on a date with his young, beautiful girlfriend. That’s what most people assumed when they would see them together.

Tony wore a disguise of course, tinted shades and a backwards baseball cap. Sometimes, they would go bowling, sometimes, he’d buy her double scooped ice cream from the local ice cream parlor, or they’d spend time together talking about pretty much anything while relaxing in the hotel Jacuzzi, or they’d simply stay in bed all day, making out, watching TV or making love. Sometimes, it was all of the above.

It was such a nice, pleasant pattern and routine they’d set. Tony enjoyed it so much. He sometimes dreaded having to leave her to return back home, back to his life. It wasn’t like he disliked his life as a married man. Pepper was an amazing wife and he enjoyed his life with her, but… it wasn’t like how it was with Riri. That fact became glaringly obvious as time passed. He found himself counting down the days until Saturday came and he’d be gone, off to eagerly see his mistress before Pepper would awaken for breakfast.

Tony wasn’t a completely heartless bastard, he did feel guilty from time to time, especially when Pepper would make sure his breakfast and coffee was ready before work.

She looked so beautiful during those moments. Her blonde hair strew all over the place with a sleepy smile on her pretty face. Tony was always reminded of how he’d fallen so hard for her in the first place.

Pepper was such a doting wife. He felt nauseous whenever he thought about how she would react if she ever found out the truth. He never likes to think about that, but it was inevitable, especially if he continued carrying on the way he had.

* * *

“Hey sweetheart, I’m on my way. I was thinking we could –”

“I can’t come today.” Riri interjects over the line in a grim tone.

He frowns.

“What? Why not?” Tony asks, not even bothering to hide the irritation or frustration in his voice.

“It’s Steve, his mother passed away last night in her sleep. He’s an emotional wreck. He needs me right now.”

Tony bit his tongue, withholding his snarky response. He was upset, but it was for selfish reasons, and he knew he was a prick for not giving a shit about whatever her boy toy had going on. All he cared about was the fact that he’d miss a whole Saturday with her that he’d been anticipating all week.

Instead, he decides to feign concern.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I completely understand.”

“I’m sorry Tony.”

“Don’t be,” Tony quickly reassures, despite the bitterness and resentment he felt inside at that moment. “It’s not your fault. You don’t plan these kinds of things to happen, they just do. It’s life.”

“Thank you for being so understanding Tony. It means a lot to me. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Okay?”

“Of course,” he replies, feigning cheerfulness.

Tony rolled his eyes when he got off the phone with her, annoyed as fuck. He decided to return home and just tell Pepper the meeting was canceled.

When he arrived, he found her still slumbering in bed. She looked beautiful and Tony couldn’t help the reluctant smile that emerged on his face as he removed his shoes and coat and climbed into bed with her.

“Tony?” She stirs, because she was never a heavy sleeper.

“It’s me baby. Go back to seep.” He whispers.

“But what about the meeting…?”

“It got canceled.”

He leans in and kisses her cheek and she smiled up at him, sleepily of course.

“Good. I’ve missed you.”

“Have you really?” Tony asks in a teasing manner, but then she rolls on top of him and leans down to kiss him sweetly on the lips.

“You have no idea...” She smirks.

And it goes without saying that they wound up making love that early morning. They spent the entire day in bed watching reruns of The Brady Bunch and I Dream a Jeanie, and honestly, Tony couldn’t recall the last time they’d lounged around like that, completely relaxed and utterly carefree. It was a nice change of pace and Tony didn’t realize how much he’d missed spending time with his wife, how much he’d loved her, and how happy she made him.

It was almost enough to make him forget all about how upset he was earlier that morning.

Almost.

* * *

Tony had only met Riri’s boyfriend once when he’d dropped by her job as a surprise to take her out to lunch and it was enough for Tony to determine he didn’t like him. And it wasn’t just because Riri was dating him (okay perhaps that was the _majority_ of the reason) but because he seemed... too good to be true, if that made any sense (which it probably didn’t).

Steve Rogers stood at 6’2, brawny, with bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. Objectively speaking, this guy looked like he walked straight out of a GQ magazine. Almost all of the women at Stark Industries visibly fawned over him, flirted with him even after he proudly introduced himself as Riri’s boyfriend.

Riri had introduced Tony to Steve and Tony could reluctantly admit that this guy seemed really into Riri. He was constantly kissing her cheek, holding onto her, and overall seemed happy to have her on his arm. Tony couldn’t blame the guy. If he were in his shoes, he’d be the exact same way.

But although Steve seemed like an all-around nice guy, Tony still didn’t like him that much and for some reason, he felt like Steve could lowkey pick that up from him.

Riri had later asked him what he’d thought of Steve. She seemed genuinely interested in his opinion and Tony told her the truth. He told her that he thought the guy was nice enough, but that he didn’t think that Steve was right for her.

“What do you mean by that?” Riri asks, genuinely perplexed.

“I mean he doesn’t seem compatible with you.”

“Well, to be fair, you only meant him one time. How could you come to such rash conclusions?”

“Look, _you_ asked _me_ of my opinion on him and I gave it. If you’re plan was to debate me on it then you shouldn’t have asked.” He counters, quite sharply.

Riri looks affronted by his snippy tone and attitude and almost immediately, he feels bad for the nasty way he’d responded.

The only reason he snapped at her was because he was jealous, plain and simple. Steve Rogers was exactly the type of guy Tony could see someone like Riri with.

Steve was the straitlaced, boy-next-door type that most likely had girls falling all over him for most of his life. He was probably a mama’s boy that made both of his parents proud bringing home nothing less than A’s and B’s. Steve was the type Tony would’ve teased in school for being a “Mr. Goody Two-Shoes” that never wanted to do anything fun and exciting in fear of getting grounded.

Steve had also seemed like the type Tony would’ve been a little jealous of because he’d always seemed to have his shit together and have everything work out perfectly without ever having to struggle or hurt for anything, and the type mother’s doted on and father’s proudly paraded around like a trophy.

Tony was the type father’s warned their daughters to stay the hell away from while mothers steered their daughters clear from “bad boys” like him that were only good for drama and heartache.

Tony was never good with parents; even Pepper’s didn’t really care for him like that. Tony was simply tolerated because he was the husband of their only daughter, the love of her life, and they’d been forced to either accept him or risk losing their daughter in return if they didn’t.

When Riri had moved to walk away from him, Tony caught her wrist and stopped her before she could get very far.

“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologizes. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

Riri stares at him for a moment before pulling her hand away and clearing her throat.

“I think that’s all for tonight. Goodnight Mr. Stark.”

And in one fell swoop, she grabs her purse, her paperwork and her coat and she’s gone before he could even articulate his next sentence.

Tony sighs exasperatedly, leaning back in his chair, running a hand through his hair.

“Fuck.”

* * *

Tony finds her there already, lying on the bed naked as she rests on her belly with her chin propped up by her forearms as she flips through the television channels.

Riri looked so adorable in that position, so youthful and innocent, and he couldn’t help but feel like a perverted old creep the way he shut the hotel door behind him, hearing a slight tick behind him as it locks.

Riri doesn’t stir one bit as he enters into the expansive hotel, setting his things down to the floor and hanging his coat up on the rack.

Riri stops on one channel and he glances at the television screen out of curiosity as he proceeds to undress and its old reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Riri still doesn’t pay him in any mind, even when he’s tossing every article of his clothing to the floor until he too, is naked.

Tony climbs onto the bed, crawling over to her until he’s beside her and he’s leaning into press a kiss onto her shoulder.

“Riri…”

She still doesn’t look at him, so he takes his time leaving lingering kisses down her naked skin, running the pads of his fingers across the soft, smooth flesh.

“You’re soft like honey.”

Riri doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even acknowledge his presence, and even though he knew she was still upset with him for the way he’d snapped at her earlier, it bothered him that he was being ignored by her.

“I’m sorry.” He says in a soft and gentle tone, hoping that his words would make things better.

“...I’m sorry.” He repeats, weakly this time as he nips at her skin and slips a hand across her backside.

Finally, she rolls over onto her back to look at him and immediately, he goes to kiss her and she lets him.

Tony crawls between her legs and pins her naked body down onto the mattress. He pulls away, panting after her, and leaning down again to kiss her neck.

“Were you jealous?” Riri finally speaks.

“…Yes.”

Tony’s planting kisses to her torso, taking one of her tits into his mouth and she moans.

“Of him?” She manages to get out, breathlessly.

“Yes.” He answers, without hesitation, pulling away and moving to her other tit, sucking on the brown nipple until it becomes erect.

“You have no right to be jealous.” Riri states, just before he flips her onto her belly, evoking a small yelping sound from her.

“No, but I am anyway.” He breathes out, running a hand down her spine and smacking her ass, evoking a whimper from her. “He gets to have you any time he wants. Why wouldn’t I be jealous?”

Tony spreads her legs and settles between them, grasping hold of his cock and leaning in to tease it between her cheeks.

“I bet you give it up to him without him ever asking. You’re such a good little girl for him and a naughty one for me.”

Tony leans forward, resting majority of his weight on his left arm before he slides all the way inside her without any preamble. Riri gasps and immediately reaches back to grasp hold of his arm, but he instead pins it behind her back.

“Tony,” she moans and he could feel her clenching around his cock which evokes a pleasant hum from him.

“You want it from the back sweetheart?”

Riri couldn’t even vocalize her answer; all she could do was nod her approval with her face pressed into the mattress.

Tony chuckles, reaching a hand out and tangling his fingers in her hair, and tugging at the soft, curly strands as he began to move.

The pleasure he felt was instantaneous. Riri was already dripping wet for him and to be honest, it went straight to his head. He groaned and subsequently muttered out numerous curse words.

Riri had let out the most adorable moans and whines, and Tony couldn’t help himself as he leaned down and bequeathed her with a few of his love bites, marking her radiant brown skin with dark pink bruises on her shoulder blades and lower back.

Tony hovered over her, still pinning one of her hands behind her back, while his other hand laced their fingers together.

Tony wanted to tell Riri, right then and there, that he was better than Steve and that he was better for her than Steve or any other man ever could be.

But, if he didn’t already sound like a jealous, insecure, pissed off ex-lover, then he surely would if he’d opened his mouth and divulged all of _that_ to her. Tony didn’t want to come across any more insecure than he already had thus far.

So instead of talking and furthering the chances of sticking his foot in his mouth, he settles for nibbling on her earlobe as he rocked his body into hers while she continuously let out muffled moans and gasps in response.

It wasn’t long before Tony’s thrusts became much more powerful and deliberate.

He leaves kisses to the side of her face, never stuttering in his movements. Riri turns her head only slightly to the side and captures his lips in a searing kiss.

And it’s a Kodak moment for them as not long after they share that sweet, passionate kiss, they’re climaxing together, simultaneously, and it’s one of the most beautiful and satisfying moments he’d ever experienced and shared with her. He could never forget it.


	3. fuck it i love you

Tony doesn’t know if Riri realized that he began to take notice of the changes within her behavior, no matter how subtle it was.

When he’d ask her what was going on and what exactly was bothering her (because he knew it had to be something), she’d either lie and tell him she was fine or blow him off completely, as if his inquiring of her well-being was such an asinine question, she wouldn’t even dignify it with a response.

Quite frankly, Riri’s attitude about it pissed him off. Firstly, why was she lying to him? Why wouldn’t she tell him what was going on in that brain of hers? Why hadn’t she felt she could trust him with whatever it was? Tony felt they’d known each other long enough now to establish some form of trust and communication between them, not only as lovers, but as friends, as her mentor and boss.

Tony decided that he would back off of it for now. Maybe it really was nothing. Maybe he was just being paranoid or way too inquisitive for his own good. If something was seriously wrong, Tony didn’t believe she’d keep it from him and if she did, eventually, she’d come to him about it.

Tony would just need to give it time, give her some space, and hopefully she’d eventually fess up about it, and if her behavior persisted, he would confront her about it and wouldn’t take no for an answer until he got to the bottom of it, once and for all.

* * *

“Sweetheart, everything okay in there?” Tony asks, knocking on the closed bathroom door of their expansive hotel room.

“No,” he hears her reply, muffled by the closed bathroom door, which swings open seconds later so that he comes face to face with her.

It’s obvious to Tony that she’s been crying judging by her smudged eyeliner, reddened eyes and round, puffy cheeks stained by her tears.

The navy blue dress with the plunging neckline he’d randomly purchased for her earlier that Saturday morning from Neiman Marcus while out and about, while Riri stayed back at the hotel, snoozing away in bed after a vigorous forenoon of rough sex that left her utterly _exhausted_ and too sleepy to part from the comfortable king sized bed no matter how much he beckoned her to.

Tony immediately thought of her when he’d seen the navy silk dress on a mannequin in a display window while passing by, stopping him dead in his tracks. He thought the dress would look fantastic on Riri’s curvaceous physique the moment he laid eyes on the silk fabric, which was currently discarded on the marble floor and she stands before him in nothing but frilly pink underwear.

“Sweetie, what’s the matter?”

“It doesn’t fit.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t fit?” Tony frowns.

“I means it’s too small for me, Tony. I’ve gained weight and now I’m an fucking whale.”

“What? No you’re not. You’re fine, everything’s fine, I can just get you another size up.”

“It won’t look the same. Just forget it.”

“Yes it will. You will look as beautiful as you always do in it.”

“I won’t. The style of that dress will not look good another size up. I’ll end up looking like Michelin Man in a dress. It’ll make me look worse and you know it.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh at that remark despite her odd behavior. She rolls her eyes in response and folds her arms against her chest.

“This isn’t in the least bit funny Tony. I’m serious.”

“What’s going on with you, huh? Why’re acting like this?” Tony asks, once he finally comes down from his high of laughter.

“Acting like what?”

“Insecure,” he answers, honestly. “You’re not usually like this at all, so self-conscious and all of sudden hyper aware of you’re appearance.” He reaches a hand out and pulls her into his embrace. “You know you can tell me if something was bothering you, right?”

This seems to have the opposite effect of what Tony had intended and she becomes offended and upset at his words and what they were insinuating. 

“Well excuse me for acting like a human being for once instead of a robot. I’m so sorry that inconveniences you.”

“What? That’s not what I -”

But it’s too late, she’s already slamming the bathroom door in his face before he could finish his sentence and Tony is left standing there, utterly dumbfounded as to what, exactly, just happened.

* * *

Unfortunately for Tony, things had not changed and Riri’s behavior was still noticeably off and for a long while, he said nothing.

But the final straw for him was when Riri had gotten into an argument with an older sales representative while they were out. The woman had mistaken Riri as his adoptive daughter. As much as it irritated Tony, he could admit that it seemed to be an honest mistake on the woman’s behalf, however Riri had taken it to heart and chewed the poor woman out for her mistake and was disproportionately offended and upset by it. 

Tony had lugged her out of there before it got out of hand, more so than it already had. It was when Tony could no longer deny the obvious.

He’d finally had enough and that is how things had finally come to a head later night between them.

Tony couldn’t truly make sense of how things had escalated between them the way it did.

One moment, they were having a good time, naked, lying side by side after a particularly vigorous session of passionate lovemaking, and then they were arguing... about whether or not Squidward was a good friend to Spongebob.

“He treats him like shit. He tolerates Spongebob, he doesn’t really care.” Riri states once it goes to commercial. 

“He cares, he just has a funny way of showing it. And to be honest, if I knew somebody with an annoying laugh like that, I wouldn’t be itching to befriend them either.”

“Are you kidding me? Spongebob has a heart of gold. Squidward doesn’t deserve him.”

“That may be true, but he’s still annoying as hell.”

”How could you be so heartless?” Riri asks, turning to face him, genuinely upset. “What has Spongebob ever done to you Tony?”

It sort of escalated from thereon and Tony couldn’t understand how they went from lighthearted bantering and in high spirits to engaging in a legit argument over cartoon characters that ended with Riri scurrying off to the bathroom.

Tony eventually gets up to check on her after she doesn’t return after five minutes and he’s shocked when he finds her sobbing with her back against the glass entrance of the walk-in shower with her knees pressed against her chest. Riri looked like a scared little girl. Tony’s heart sank at the sight and that was when he’d had enough. Whatever was going on with Riri was changing her. Tony was determined to get answers.

But all she does is cry. Riri tries to fight him off when he picks her up and carries her back into the bedroom, gently laying her down onto the bed.

“Tell me what’s wrong with you sweetheart, you’re scaring me.”

“I have to go,” she whimpers, weakly pushing him away, but he won’t let up. “I have to leave.”

“I’m not letting you leave like this, not until I get some answers.”

“Tony, please…” she pleads as big wet tears well up in her eyes and drop down her cheeks. “Please let me go.”

“ _Tell me_.” He contends and she gazes up at him, with glistening brown eyes, puffy round cheeks, and red-rimmed eyes. “Tell me Riri. Tell me the _truth_. Don’t try to lie to me again because I’ll know. You know I will because of how horrible a liar I always said you are.”

Tears stream down her cheeks and he reaches a hand out, smearing them away with his thumb, and grasping hold of her chin firmly so she couldn’t look away.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“…Yes…” she sniffles.

“Then tell me sweetie. You have me worried out my mind. You know you can tell me anything.”

Tony leans in and presses a kiss to her cheek, nose and chin and when he pulls away to face her again, she looks as if she’s about to crack.

“…I’m pregnant Tony.”

As soon as those words leave her mouth, Tony takes his time processing them, making sure he’d heard her right, and then he feels something in his belly tighten and goosebumps form on his skin.

“…How long?” He asks, somehow managing to articulate a question despite his momentary daze at her revelation. “…How long have you known?”

“A month,” she blurts out, as more tears stream down her brown, cherubic face. “I was going to tell you, but I was so scared to, scared of how you’d react. So I scheduled for an abortion and… I… I couldn’t do it.”

Riri rambled on as if she’d been dying to get all of this off her chest because she’d been bottling this up and dealing with it on her own for all this time.

“…Are you upset?” Riri eventually asks and she looks genuinely worried that he might have been and he could see her bracing herself for the absolute worse… but it never comes.

“No,” he answers, honestly. “I wish you would’ve told me sooner though, so you wouldn’t have had to go through this alone for all this time.”

Riri appears genuinely shocked at his response and he wonders what kind of stormy reaction she’d been expecting.

“So… you’re not mad?”

“About the unexpected pregnancy? No. About you’re lying to me? Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” she immediately apologizes, genuinely ashamed. “I should’ve told you sooner. And not that it’s an excuse but, I was scared Tony… I still am…”

“You shouldn’t be.”

“Why not? You’re married Tony and I’m nowhere near ready for a baby. Steve and I haven’t even done it yet so if he ever finds out, he’s going to know what I’ve been doing behind his back.”

Riri was panicking again and Tony has to calm her down, until she’s left weeping in his arms.

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Don’t cry sweetheart.”

“I have an appointment tomorrow.” Riri sniffles, sitting up and he can’t help but reach a hand out and wipe away the tears that rapidly fell from her lashes and down her cheeks. “I can’t go alone…”

“I know… you won’t have to...” He says in a gentle tone as he runs a hand up and down her arm, which seems to soothe her.

Riri appears relieved by his consent and he pulls her in for a hug. He’d never seen her _this_ shaken up before and he felt awful about it.

“…Thank you Tony.” She whispers, minutes later as she calms down a bit.

Tony smiles at her, halfheartedly, running his hands through her soft, thick curls as she gazes up at him with those wide brown eyes that would always make him feel like his heart had skipped a beat and butterflies in his belly.

Tony leans down and kisses her in response and it seems to express to her the words he could not articulate in that moment.

* * *

Tony and Riri had barely made it through the doors of the clinic she was scheduled to have the abortion before she freaked out.

Riri had burst into a fit of tears and said that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go through with killing her own baby. She wasn’t strong enough and she didn’t have the heart to do it.

Tony wasn’t too shocked by her outburst given that she didn’t seem all that confident about her decision despite her reassuring him, over and over again, that she was fine and that this is what she wanted to do. Tony knew she was lying to him and he couldn’t understand why.

Tony embraced her and ended up canceling the appointment for her. He took her home and ordered pizza. Tony stayed with her and they ate together. Riri was still a bit shaken up, but she was a lot better than she had been before.

Tony could see the wheels turning in her head, despite her never uttering a word. He has a hunch as to what Riri may be contemplating and he wants to tell her that she didn’t have to bottle it up like she did before, that she could tell him what was on her mind… but he doesn’t want to set her off. Riri was emotionally fragile right now and he didn’t want to push her closer to the edge.

“…I’m going to tell Steve about the baby.” Riri declares, breaking the silence between them as she nibbles on her half eaten slice of pizza. “I think if I tell him now instead of waiting, it won’t be as bad.”

“…So, you’ve decided to keep it then?”

Riri looks up at him and slowly nods, gazing back down at her food, gnawing at her bottom lip, nervously.

“That’s the second time I freaked out like that. I can’t go through it again Tony… I just can’t.”

Tony nods in understanding. Seeing her absolutely beside herself nearly broke his heart. Tony never wanted to see her like that again, especially when there was nothing he could do about it. He hated feeling so powerless, especially when it came to those he loved. It was the worst feeling in the world.

Tony leans into her and places a hand on her knee. It causes her to look up at him and she looks so frightened, like a scared little girl who bit off more than she could chew.

“You don’t have to go through this by yourself Riri. I’ll be here. You know that right?”

She looks away from him and he frowns.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing,” she replies, avoiding eye contact with him and Tony could immediately tell she was lying. It annoyed the hell out of him.

“I know you’re lying, Riri. Don’t lie to me dammit. Tell me the truth! Tell me what’s on your mind, what’s bothering you.”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes!”

“It bothers me that I got myself into this situation with you, that I wasn’t smart enough to make better decisions and not get pregnant by a married man, by my own boss…” Riri shakes her head, genuine frustration painted across her pretty face. “I should’ve known better.”

Riri blamed herself for this and Tony felt terrible about it. After all, she hadn’t been the one who was married. She hadn’t been the one that pursued him; in fact, it was the other way around.

Sure it was that infamous accidental text message she’d sent that had been the catalyst of their affair, but it was Tony that had allowed his emotions to get the best of him. It was his lack of willpower and self-control that ultimately led him down this path with Riri.

Tony was the one that’d fallen in love with her and now had gotten her pregnant. He’d been the older one in the relationship with much more life experience than Riri and he could admit he used it to manipulate her into doing what he wanted her to do, like engage in an affair with him. Riri didn’t want to, but he _insisted_ and even treated her like shit until she eventually gave in. Tony used that power imbalance between them when he saw fit and it was wrong. Tony knew it but didn’t care until it came back to bite him in the ass.

Tony should have been the one to have known better, to have stayed away, and exercised better willpower and self-restraint than he did. He was a married man that made a lifelong commitment, which was to honor Pepper and he failed to do so, just like he’d failed to be a proper mentor and boss to Riri. Tony pursued her for a romantic relationship, using his position and power over her to get her to bend at his will, instead of exemplifying what a good leader was. He may have in the very beginning, but not anymore.

“It’s not your fault Riri. It’s mine. I’m the one that pressured you into this.”

Riri looks at him and it’s his turn to look away in shame. She sighs and reaches a hand out, placing it atop of his that still rested on her knee.

“Tony, you didn’t pressure me to do anything I didn’t already want. I’m not a baby. I knew this was wrong and I could’ve stopped it if I truly wanted to, but I didn’t. I made my bed and now I have to lie in it.”

Tony gazes down at their hands and moves his to lace their fingers together.

“I’m not going to let you go through this alone. I know this is not an ideal situation for either of us, but we’ll figure something out. I promise. Okay?”

Riri nods and Tony leans into kiss her. She’s receptive and just before things escalated; a knock at the front door startles them apart.

“Were you expecting someone over?” Tony quietly asks and she frowns, shaking her head.

“No.”

Riri gets up and tip toes over to the front door, looking through the peep hole. A small gasp of surprise escapes and she whips around to face him.

“It’s Steve,” she whispers out, moving away from the door. Something unpleasant settles at the pit of his belly at the mention of that man’s name and once again, it couldn’t have been anything other than unadulterated jealousy. “You have to go.”

Riri sneaks him out the back and Tony couldn’t recall the last time something like this has happened to him, probably back in college when the girlfriend of a huge college fullback had dropped by her dorm unexpectedly and she snuck Tony out her window before her boyfriend could have even suspected his girlfriend was two-timing him with another guy doing God knows what with his girlfriend.

It was a bit ironic and surreal seeing himself in the same situation over twenty years later. It gave him a bit of an adrenaline rush that he hadn’t felt in years.

They shared a quick kiss with Tony informing her that she didn’t have to return back to work that day and Riri promised him that she’d text him later.

Tony drove back to work that day with a lot on his mind and subsequently remained in a daze for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Riri had later informed him that she’d told Steve about the baby that day she snuck him out and that Steve was upset at first, no doubt and he would definitely need time to heal from the stain of her betrayal, but that, to her surprise, he still wanted to be with her.

Apparently, Riri had made her infidelity out to be a drunken one night stand and that the father did not want anything to do with the baby.

Riri was over the moon at Steve’s willingness to forgive her and want her back despite everything.

Steve had even been willing to raise the baby as his own. That is how much this guy was head over heels for Riri. He’d be willing to stick around and raise another man’s child just because he was so smitten with their mother.

Tony had to be honest, Steve sounded like every woman’s dream guy and he wasn’t surprised Riri had an affinity for him and chose Steve to be the one she’d desired to be with. Steve was the type of guy that seemed right up her alley.

Tony, at first, hadn’t let on to how bothered he was by the whole thing. It was like her, Steve and their baby would be one little happy family. Riri was planning her life with Steve, setting up their unborn child’s future without Tony in it and it bothered the hell out of him. That was _his_ baby, too. And although the way their unborn child had come about wasn’t ideal, he wanted them to know who he was and that they were loved despite the circumstances.

Tony can admit that he’d never been the one that desired kids, but things had changed when he’d married Pepper. For once in his life, the thought of kids hadn’t sounded like a death sentence.

But that changed after it was revealed to him that Pepper was unable to have kids. She was barren. And Pepper hadn’t been aware of the fact that she was unable to carry a baby to term until she’d suffered from a miscarriage a year after they married.

The news had been devastating for the both of them, especially Pepper, and it took Tony years to convince her not to blame herself for something that was out of her control. She still did and she spent many nights crying herself to sleep because of it.

Pepper hadn’t wanted to adopt nor did she want a surrogate, so Tony had eventually learned to accept the fact that children would never be an option for him anymore. It sucked at first, but Tony still had Pepper and at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered to him.

But now, he had a baby on the way, with Riri, and he couldn’t quell those desires of fatherhood, no matter how much he tried.

Tony should’ve been happy Riri found the support system that he was unable to fully provide her with, but he wasn’t. He was jealous and upset that she was to have a life with Steve that he’d wanted with her, but couldn’t fully give her.

It was a juxtaposition of several emotions, some justified and others… not so much.

Tony dealt with these feelings of bitterness and resentment as best as he could, but could tell he wouldn’t be able to hide them from Riri for much longer.

* * *

Although Tony was not happy with the current situation regarding Riri, the baby and her boyfriend Steve Rogers, Tony was glad that Riri allowed him to have her in a way Steve hadn’t.

Tony took smug pleasure in the fact he could have her climbing the walls for him, crying out from pleasure and begging to be fucked.

Tony doubts Steve could ever draw out that side of her that could be so naughty and so sweet at the same damn time. Riri was like an angel in bed, a gem, and nonpareil. He’d never cum as powerfully and as intensely as he had with Riri.

It made Tony nearly tremble with anger at the thought of some other man seeing her the way Tony had, over and over again, in abundance. Tony knew deep down that he shouldn’t have, but he felt a sense of ownership over Riri, an entitlement over her and her body.

Perhaps, part of it had to do with Riri revealing to him that he’d been the only man she’d ever been with in an intimate manner. Tony had been her first and when she’d told him that, it went straight to his head. Tony felt that Riri belonged to him and that he should be the only one that had access to her body, to this level of intimacy with her that no one else had, because no one else deserved her, deserved to experience her the way he had so many times before.

Realistically, Tony knew he had no right to feel that way. It was selfish and borderline neurotic.

How could he feel such ownership and possessiveness over someone other than his own wife? How could he expect Riri to prioritize him over Steve? To leave such a seemingly good man to be Tony’s permanent mistress? It was a shitty deal and even Tony wouldn’t take it if he were in her shoes.

But perhaps Tony was exhibiting behavior of a typical man of his power and stature who’d been born into old money and wealth that wanted his cake and the ability to eat it, too. A tale as old as time.

Tony didn’t like sharing, he never did, and he didn’t want to share Riri. He didn’t want to share Riri or their unborn child with Steve, or anyone else for that matter.

Riri belonged to him, their baby belonged to him, and that was that.

* * *

“Tony…” Riri moans, throwing her head back in ecstasy as she bounces around on top of him, riding his cock so seamlessly, with a passion and vigor that nearly drives them both insane.

And of course Riri looks majestic while on top of him, giving him the ride of his life.

Riri’s inky black curls pooled down her back and over her shoulders, her brown skin, soft and smooth, coated in perspiration and her wide brown eyes as they gazed down at him, gleamed with desire and… something else, something heavy and intense.

She’d never looked at him like the way she was looking at him in that moment and it made him wonder what exactly that look was and why it made his throat dry, shivers rush down his spine as goosebumps appeared on his skin, and his balls tighten, almost painfully so.

Tony watches her, hovering above him like an angel, and observes everything about her in that moment.

The way her swollen, round, perky breasts bounced up and down with her movements, the way her eyes rolled back and her lips parted as she tilted her head back, moaning in delight.

Tony begins to match her rapid movements by slamming his cock inside her, rhythmically, until it created a soft, erotic sound of bare flesh meeting that echoed between them.

Tony ran a hand down her torso, pausing at her belly. Although it was far from noticeable that she was indeed pregnant, Tony could make out a slight bulge that hadn’t been there before. It was a subtle change in appearance, but Tony could tell. He’d seen her naked body hundreds of times and he was observant. Tony would notice any changes right off the bat and he did and it was breathtaking.

Tony couldn’t believe their small little baby was in there, growing and getting stronger by the day. It made his heart flutter with pride and delight.

“Tony.” Riri moans out breathlessly, leaning her body back a little and resting the majority of her weight on the palm of her hands positioned between his legs.

_This_ view of her was _so_ much better, much more explicit and pornographic. The kind of pose you’d see in Playboy magazines and pornography. It was beautiful and most of all: it was just for him.

Tony came, powerfully, when she’d begin touching herself, in a desperate attempt for a release.

Riri came too, not long after him, and she wasted no time crawling back up to him and snuggling up to his side.

Tony pulls her into him and kisses her passionately on the lips. When he pulls away, he whispers his love for her and closes his eyes to rest.

* * *

When Pepper confronted him about the affair, Tony was caught off guard.

For some odd reason, he believed Pepper would never find out about it, but he should have known. It was Pepper after all. She was smart, intuitive and much more observant than he ever gave her credit for.

Tony should’ve known that with her, it would only be a matter of time.

Apparently, she’d noticed changes in his behavior and he obviously wasn’t as discreet as he believed himself to be. Pepper had noticed for a long while, but kept it to herself, that is until she had enough evidence to back up her claims and accusations.

And boy did she.

Tony initially denies it of course, and she believes him, or at least he thought she did.

The second time she confronts him, he denies it again, but this time around, he wasn’t so lucky.

Pepper had evidence this time, damning evidence, incriminating evidence that made him appear as if he was not only a pathological liar, but a cheating, lustful bastard as well.

There were text messages exchanged between him and Riri. Some of them were innocent enough, while others were much more… salacious.

Tony had _still_ tried to claim falsehoods, fabrications and untruths regarding those text messages that were obviously from his cellphone number with additional receipts to the location in which those messages were sent from Tony’s phone which all pointed back to their home address.

Pepper had to pull out the explicit photos to render him speechless and officially out of lies and excuses. Perhaps, he could claim photo shop by someone that had it out for him, but that wouldn’t work because it was obvious these photos came from a private investigator Tony assumed Pepper had hired, probably as a one last ditch effort as proof of his infidelity despite the damning evidence she’d acquired against him already.

The photos were of him and Riri, having sex, at different times. Tony could tell the photos were taken at different times because Riri’s hair was styled differently in each photo and the little clothing they wore in each photo as they undressed were different.

There was no denying it now. Photos didn’t lie and Tony had no choice but to come clean.

Pepper was, no doubt, angry and furious. She’d given him ample opportunity to come clean and tell her the truth the first time, but still, he lied and tried to make her seem crazy by claiming she was overthinking things and was paranoid.

Pepper had to stoop to this level in order for him to fess up and that’s what got to her the most. The fact that he knew what he was doing and still attempted to make her out to be the crazy one.

Pepper cried, so hard her body nearly shook, and informed him that she was leaving him and that the marriage between them was over.

Pepper didn’t even ask him why he’d done it, but that she was through with him and that there was no coming back from this, _especially_ after getting her pregnant.

It didn’t hit Tony until later, when most of Pepper’s things were gone and he was delivered divorce papers from her divorce lawyer, of what he’d done.

It hit Tony like a ton of bricks. Tony broke down in a fit of tears. He mourned for his wife, or soon-to-be ex-wife. He mourned for the thirteen years of marriage they’d shared, the life they’d created together, and the joy it brought him. Tony knew he’d lost Pepper for good, and that losing Pepper in this way was like losing her in death.

Pepper would _never_ talk to him again and if she could help it, she would never see him again, either.

Tony had never felt as lonely and broken as he did that day. He never cried so much in his life at the huge void Pepper left.

But, in an odd sense, he’d also felt… relieved?

Relieved that he wouldn’t have to lie to her anymore about his whereabouts or sneak around in fear of Pepper finding out, or repeatedly hurting her and betraying her in the way he was by his actions, whether she knew about it or not.

In a way, Tony was glad Pepper ended it, because now, he could be with the person he’d secretly wanted all this time, as awful as that sounded, especially so soon after Pepper’s departure.

But Riri was now five months pregnant and engaged to be married to Steve Rogers. Time wasn’t really on his side, unfortunately.

Tony needed to make a move now, before it was too late. It might’ve already been, but Tony would try his luck anyway. What did he have to lose at this point other than a future with the woman he found himself madly in love with and a chance to be actively involved in their unborn child’s life?

* * *

Tony was glad Riri had accepted his invitation in coming over for dinner. Tony had hired a chef that cooked Riri’s favorite meal: spaghetti with meatballs along with her favorite dessert.

He was going to wine and dine her and by the end of night, Tony hoped and prayed he would have her as his, that she would dump Steve for him. Tony was the better man for her anyway. No, he was _far_ from perfect and the circumstances in which they’d gotten together was far from ideal, but he loved her and he loved their unborn child more than anything. It made him sick to watch Steve try and step in as a replacement father.

Of course Riri viewed Steve as the second coming after that, as well as everyone else that found it rather sweet and endearing. Tony found it obnoxious and despicable.

This baby already had a father that was alive and well and didn’t need a fraud pretending to be the biological father when he wasn’t and would never be. Tony would make sure of it.

* * *

When Riri had finally arrived, standing in his doorway, Tony’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor at her beauty. She was so effortlessly ethereal and majestic.

Tony practically gawked at her, drooling as his eyes trailed down her small, petite frame and paused on the protrusion of her five month pregnant belly.

“Tony? Are you… okay?”

He snaps out of it and shakes his head, blinking a couple times.

“Yes, I’m fine. You look beautiful and I was left star-struck as a result. Come in.”

Riri visibly blushes and takes his hand as she steps inside and he shuts the door, leading her further inside his home.

“The food smells delicious Tony. What’d you make?”

“You’re favorite, spaghetti and meatballs.” He grins.

Riri looks delighted at that. Tony takes her coat and purse and sets it aside.

“…It feels so different now, compared to the last time I was here…”

“Yeah,” he sighs, glancing around the home that appeared noticeably emptier, colder. “I’ve been thinking of putting this place up for sale. It doesn’t feel like home anymore you know?”

Riri nods, gazing over at him with sad, empathetic eyes.

“I’m sorry Tony… about what happened –”

“Don’t be,” he quickly interjects. “It’s not your fault. This is not your burden to carry. It’s mine.”

“You say that, but it _is_ my fault Tony. I know you’re trying to protect me and don’t want me to blame myself, but the truth is the truth, and it wasn’t just you. I played a part in it as well and you shouldn’t have to carry that burden of guilt alone.”

Tony looks at her, his eyes drifting across her face – her sweet, angelic face – and he shakes his head with a sigh.

No, he wouldn’t accept that. This was his burden to carry, not hers. He’d been the one that vowed to remain faithful to his wife, to honor her, to love her and cherish her, and he didn’t. _That_ was on him. And he would have to reconcile with that on his own, no matter what anyone said. No matter what Riri said to make him believe otherwise. It wasn’t her fault. It was his and only his.

He clears his throat.

“The food should be ready by now. Let’s go check.” He smiles, standing and reaching a hand out for her to take.

The food is delicious and Riri obviously loved it, judging by the pornographic sounds she made in response after every bite.

Tony laughed, feeling something warm and heavy settle at the pit of his belly as the night progresses, and he knows he can’t continue procrastinating and putting off the inevitable.

So, once they finish their dinner, Tony takes her by the hand and leads her to the dining room. It was her favorite room in the house because of the fabulous view of the expansive city. He takes her out onto the balcony and together they watch the sky turn from bright blue to pink, yellow, and purple as sundown arrives.

Tony looks at Riri and she has a soft smile on her face. She looked so peaceful; Tony couldn’t help but reach a hand out and brush it against the side of her face. She looks at him and blushes, looking away.

“I love you,” he says and the words come off his tongue so easy and naturally. “…I want to be with you Riri.”

Riri stares at him for a long moment before looking away and turning her back away from the magnificent view before them.

“I’m marrying Steve, Tony. I know you’re going through a hard time right now with the divorce and you’re probably feeling lonely and out of sorts, but I’m creating a life with Steve.”

Tony clenches his jaw at his name and looks away, desperately trying to keep his temper in check as he does so.

“You’ll never be truly happy with him. You may love him, but you don’t love him the way you love me and he damn sure doesn’t love you the way I do.”

Riri doesn’t respond, just keeps her gaze low, avoiding eye contact.

“I know, deep down, this is what you’ve wanted all along. I know you want me and I know you want me to be a part of this child’s life, because, as you said before, you didn’t want to do it alone. I was never going to let that happen anyway.” Tony takes a step closer to her. “This is a chance for us to be a real family.”

Slowly, Riri turns to look at him, and her eyes are filled with heavy, wet tears. She blinks and they fall, one by one, down unto her cheeks like little waterfalls from her long, curly lashes.

“What about Steve? I can’t just leave him Tony. He’s been such a great partner throughout all of this, even when I didn’t deserve it. He really loves me and he wouldn’t have accepted me back after what I did to him if he didn’t.”

“…Do you love him?”

Riri closes her eyes and nods.

And, just like that, something inside him breaks, into tiny million pieces, and a lump forms in his throat.

“...Well, if you love him and he’s who you desire to be with, there’s nothing I can do about it.” Tony takes a step away from her. “...But, I do desire to be a part of my child’s life, as much as possible.”

“Of course,” she sniffles. “This is your baby too. You have just as much a right to them as I do.”

Tony nods, halfheartedly, and clears his throat.

“So, do I get an invite to the wedding? Or are ex-lovers not allowed?” He chuckles wryly, in attempt to lighten the mood and to take the attention away from him and his shattered heart.

“Yes,” she giggles, despite the quart sized tears dropping from her eyes.

Riri would never know how devastated he was when she’d left him, how she’d split his heart in two, and how he cried like a baby because of it, hysterically and inconsolably. 

This is what he deserved though. Tony was responsible for damaging a woman he vowed his life to beyond repair by betraying her in the worst way possible and now; Riri had turned around and done the same to him. The woman he’d loved so dearly, so intensely and so powerfully, and she’d turned his love away for someone else. Someone better than him. Someone Riri obviously thought was better than him and better for her.

Tony had felt so angry, truthfully, it was enough anger and rage to possibly kill someone.

Toxic, self-destructive thoughts couldn’t help but make their way to the forefront of his mind. Thoughts and feelings he thought he’d long buried after the death of his parents had resurfaced; feelings of unworthiness, of self-doubt, bitterness and resentment and it had begun to eat away at him, until there was practically nothing left.

* * *

Tony had awakened, later that night with the urge to pee. His head felt like someone had thrown a brick at it and his eyes felt sore. Tony was clad in nothing but a t-shirt and boxers as he stumbled over to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Tony didn’t have to look in the mirror to know he probably looked like shit because he felt like it on the inside and out.

Tony found himself longing for sleep again, because at least he was at peace in his slumber, and he dreamed about Riri and it was happy. It was good.

Tony returns back to bed and in the midst of forcing himself to fall back asleep and to quell his rapidly depressing thoughts, his phone had vibrated, slightly startling him.

Tony ignored it at first, but when it vibrated yet again, he reached for it with slightly blurred vision and disorientation.

Tony is shocked to see that it was a text message from Riri. He immediately sits up and blinks away the sleep from his eyes as he cuts on the nearby lamp at his bedside.

_I woke up tonight with several thoughts on my mind. One of those thoughts is you. I think of you for no significant reason._

Tony blinks, rereading the message, just to make sure he read those words right.

Tony goes to type in a reply, but he receives another message from her.

_I’m outside._

Tony gulps and he wastes no time hoping out of bed, nearly breaking his neck doing so and sprints out his bedroom and down the stairs.

Tony opens the front door and sure enough, there she was, sitting on his front porch, with her knees pulled up to her chest, looking like the scared little girl she was.

“Riri.” He breathes out.

Riri doesn’t answer and he moves until he’s standing right in front of her. She gazes up at him and she looks no different than him, like she’d been crying her eyes out all night and barely got any rest since their last meeting.

“…I broke up with him.” Riri declares in a sorrowful tone. “...I told him it wasn’t going to work out between us and he lost it. Steve fell to his knees and begged me not to leave him.” Riri gazes up at him with those wide brown eyes and Tony’s heart nearly skips a beat. “I didn’t want to, but I knew I would hurt him again, more than I already have, if I stayed. You would’ve always been in the background and I would’ve never been strong enough to fully let you go, no matter how hard I tried.”

Tony kneels down to her, so they’re at eye level, and she looks at him, sniffling, and he reaches a hand out and threads his fingers through her hair.

“…I love you Tony. There’s no one else out there for me. I only want you. I only want a life, a future and a family with you.”

And that is all Tony ever desired to hear from Riri. He feels something pleasant explode inside his belly and before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s pulling her in for a tender kiss.

Riri wraps her arms around him and he pulls her up and pulls her into him, at least as close as her protruding belly allowed.

“Marry me,” he asks, quite breathlessly, moments after they pull away.

And Riri nods, more tears pouring from her eyes as she does so, and Tony does his best to wipe them away with his thumb.

“Okay… I’ll marry you.”

“You will?” Tony asks, almost as if in disbelief.

“Yes!”

And that is how he ends up carrying her inside, undressing her and falling to his knees before her, pressing adorned kisses to her swollen belly.

Tony sinks down further and her fingers immediately grasp his hair as she moans.

“I love you Tony… I love you so much.”

And Tony could’ve sworn he was on cloud nine.

If someone would’ve told him his life would’ve turned out this way, without Pepper in it, he would’ve laughed right in their face and told them to go to hell, especially if they would’ve told him that it all stemmed from some horny text message as a result of drunken texting.

But yet here he was. It was crazy how life had a way of working out in ways one would’ve never predicted.

When Tony looks back, he does wish he would’ve went about things very differently than he did, if only to spare Pepper’s feelings and heartache, but then realizes that, if he did go about things different, he most likely wouldn’t have ended up with Riri and any other outcome other than her felt like a death sentence.

So, perhaps things had worked out the way they had meant to, and despite the people they hurt in the process of finding one another, Tony can’t say he regrets any of it, if it meant he’d get to have her as his, then absolutely not.

He’d do it all over again for Riri and for their little one growing inside her belly, with no questions asked.

“I love you too; you have no idea how much.” Tony mutters, gazing up at her, in a lovesick manner. “I would’ve gone insane had you decided to go through marrying some other man other than me.”

“Good thing I didn’t.” Riri chuckles, sniffling a little as she runs the tips of her fingers through his messy brown locks of hair, and he smiles.

“Yeah, it’s a good thing you didn’t – a _really_ good thing.”


End file.
